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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Physical Education and Pedagogy
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1431786

Facilitators and Barriers in Interprofessional Collaboration Around Physical Activity on Prescription -A Focus Group Study in a Swedish School Setting

Provisionally accepted
Emelie Wiklund Emelie Wiklund 1,2*Jenny Vikman Jenny Vikman 1,2Maria Wiklund Maria Wiklund 3Susanna Hedenborg Susanna Hedenborg 1,2
  • 1 Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
  • 2 Faculty of Education and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Skåne, Sweden
  • 3 Umeå University, Umeå, Västerbotten, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In Swedish school health services, local initiatives have been taken to use physical activity on prescription (PAP) to encourage physically inactive children to become more active. Previous research shows that interprofessional collaboration plays a crucial role in promoting physical activity in children, as well as in promoting health in schools. However, there is a lack of knowledge about PAP for children in the school setting, including how medical and educational staff can work together to encourage children who have been recommended PAP.Therefore, this study aims to explore the perceived facilitators and barriers concerning interprofessional collaboration regarding physical activity on prescription in the school setting, as viewed from the professionals' perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 professionals who work with the method in school settings. The data were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The results reveal both barriers and facilitators for interprofessional collaboration on PAP in the school setting, as perceived by professionals.Organizational and structural obstacles within school institutions hinder collaboration, while a shared commitment to PAP, characterized by consensus-building, acts as a facilitating factor. PAP for children in a school setting is still an unexplored area and further research is required.

    Keywords: Children, Health Promotion, Interprofessional collaboration, physical activity, School, School health service

    Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wiklund, Vikman, Wiklund and Hedenborg. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Emelie Wiklund, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.