In 2014, the Public Dental Health Service in Södra Ryd, Skövde, started a collaboration at the local family centre with the aim of performing health-promoting activities. Personnel at the family centre can play an important role in promoting children's health, including oral health, by testing preventive guidance.
Objectives: To describe the personnel's experience of collaboration.
Basic research design: Qualitative interviews with transcripts analysed using the phenomenographic approach.
Participants: Seven staff with experience of collaboration. All were female, aged 34-62 and were dental nurses, child health-care nurses, preschool teacher or family centre co-ordinators.
Results: Three themes describing personnel's experience of collaboration at the family centre emerged: Collaboration produces an holistic approach, Co-location creates added value and Working methods result in development. Each theme was represented by three to four categories that represent different conceptions of collaboration at a family centre.
Conclusions: The staff had found that the way of working was positive, mainly because it gave an increased overall view and that the co-location created added value. It also created development through mutual learning and new methods. However, it took time to establish collaboration and required permissive leadership.
Keywords: collaboration; family centre; health promotion; phenomenography; preschool children.
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