This project will develop a new practice placement model for sports and physiotherapy students in their work with people of marginalized groups. The project aims at establishing a link between undergraduate education and new practice placements in particularly in new practice placement arenas such as prisons, soccer for the homeless, rehabilitation centres, thus being a pilot project. The links developed during the project will increase students competences and employability (lead users) by introducing them to working with people of marginalized groups, such as inmates, drug abusers, homeless and people of multicultural background in a perspective of public health. The links will also improve health care for vulnerable citizens and socially marginalized groups (end users), and enhance the relevance in the use of practice placements as part of the study programmes for the future student (end users). An overall goal is to focus on social inequalities in health, and empowerment of vulnerable groups and to increase the knowledge among students of physiotherapy and sports on how to work towards marginalized groups in order to equalize these inequalities. Through the project the students should be able to apply both their professional and relational knowledge in order to lower the threshold for marginalized persons to take part in ordinary life. The partners will play an active role in developing both the practice placement arenas and the rationale for the different approaches carried out by the students during their practice placement. The stakeholders will play an important role in providing the practice placement arenas and giving vital feedback during the project. Teachers/supervisors, students and stakeholders will meet during workshops and intensive programmes in the form of practice placements such as the Homeless World Cup and Halden Prison in Norway. The students' evaluation of the practical training, the supervisors' preparations and evaluation both during the project and at the end, the stakeholders' evluations as well as the user perspective will, along with the experiences made by them throughout the project activities, contribute towards improved use of practice placements as part of the study programmes. The partners are Dalarna University, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences and Profesjonhøjskolen Metropol. All three partners have experiences in working with marginalized groups, but each from a different angle, thus contributing to a more complete take on the use of practice placements in this context. From each partner institution two to three persons working within the fields of physiotherapy and sports will play a key role. The most relevant stakeholders will also participate as will four students from each country. The main result will be the new model for practice placement in order to change the health and wellfare service for people of marginalized group. This result will be published in the form of a report and in research articles. In addition two conferences will be arranged for invited guests and for the public at large. The key persons will take part in the different arenas to convey the project and the result. A long term benefit will be attuned curricula and physiotherapists and sports educators working with people of marginalized group to equalize disparities in health thus helping them to improve their standing.
The partners have been Dalarna University, Oslo Metropolitan University (earlier Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences) and University College Copenhagen (earlier Profesjonhøjskolen Metropol). From each partner institution, two or three persons working within the fields of physiotherapy and sports have played a key role in the project. Stakeholders have been prisons, NGOs, muncipality and street soccer/HWC. This project has developed a new practice placement model for sports and physiotherapy students in their work with people of marginalized groups. The project has established a link between undergraduate education and new practice placements in particularly in new practice placement arenas such as prisons, soccer for the homeless, rehabilitation centres for drug addicted, hospital for drug abusers, activities for immigrants and for people with mental illness to lower the threshold for social inclusion. The links developed during the project have increased students competences and employability by introducing them to working with people of marginalized groups, such as inmates, drug abusers, homeless and people of multicultural background in a perspective of public health. The new practice will also improve health care for vulnerable citizens and socially marginalized groups, and enhance the relevance in the use of practice placements as part of the study programmes for the future student. An overall goal has been to focus on social inequalities in health, and empowerment of vulnerable groups and to increase the knowledge among students of physiotherapy and sports on how to work towards marginalized groups in order to equalize these inequalities. Through the project, the students have been able to apply both their professional and relational knowledge in order to lower the threshold for marginalized persons to take part in ordinary life. The partners have played an active role in developing both the practice placement arenas and the rationale for the different approaches carried out by the students during their practice placement and their practice periods. The stakeholders have played an important role in providing the practice placement arenas and giving vital feedback during the project. Teachers/supervisors, students and stakeholders have met during workshops and intensive programmes in the form of practice placements such as the Homeless World Cup and practice in Halden Prison in Norway. The students' evaluation of the practical training, the supervisors' preparations and evaluation both during the project and at the end, the stakeholders' evaluations as well as the user perspective have, along with the experiences made by them throughout the project activities, contribute towards improved use of practice placements as part of the study programmes. The main result are the new model for practice placement in order to change the health and welfare service for people of marginalized group and volunteering for the students. Furthermore, it is the attuned curriculum in Denmark and Sweden, and that knowledge about substance abuse and services for marginalized people is pointed out in particular in new guidelines for health education (RETHOS) in Norway. Two conferences have been arranged for invited guests and for the public at large. The key persons have taken part in different arenas to convey the project and the result. The project has developed guidelines for mentors in practice, we have shared our knowledge at conferences and published articles based on empirical data from the project. During the project period all three partners have established cooperation with new partners, in the field of marginalization.