More about the project

Co-research

Representatives for the refugee services and health services in the North Norwegian municipalities of Harstad, Senja and Sør-Varanger are partners in HealthIntro. They have controbuted to the development of the research project and are now taking an active part in recruiting participants for the study, as well as discussing findings in the project. They are also part of a separate work package that looks into how the results can be utilised in the development of services in their own municipalities.

Six female research assistants with own experience from the introduction programme actively participate in HealthIntro. The six women have been recruited from the participating municipalities Harstad, Senja, and Sør-Varanger. They will undergo a training programme for co-research in qualitative methods.

Furthermore, they will participate in the design of sub-studies, data collection, analyses of data, contribute to results in the project, and participate in project group meetings and dissemination.

Sub-study 1

Sub-study 1 will investigate whether there are some types of health challenges that refugees or their families struggle with that make it difficult to finish the introduction programme, increasing the risk of unemployment.

Sub- study 1 is quantitative. We will do analysis based on register data.

Leader of sub-study 1: 
Kjærsti Thorsteinsen

Sub-study 2

Sub-study 2 will investigate which health challenges create barriers to participation in the introduction programme. What experiences do the refugees have with adaptations of the programme, and to what extent will they have the opportunity to influence this adaptation? The study will also look at how legislation prevents or promotes the possibility of adapting the introduction programme in the municipalities.

The sub-study will look at the experiences of employees in municipalities with the Introduction Programme, and what they believe will lead to more people completing the programme and/or getting to work afterwards.

Sub-study 2 is qualitative. We will conduct interviews with refugees, municipalities, companies, and health personnel.

Leader of sub-study 2: 
Johanna Laue

Sub-study 3

Sub-study 3 will look at the challenges in the everyday life of refugee families where one or more family members have health challenges, and how this affects participation in the introduction programme. This sub-study is twofold.

One part highlights women, family, and everyday life. In the second part, we will interview young people in the municipalities whose parents have undergone the introduction programme and ask them how this has affected their everyday lives.

Sub-study 3 is qualitative, and we will do fieldwork, conduct interviews: focus group interviews, and individual interviews with women, families, and adolescents.

Leader of sub-study 3: 
Rita Sørly

Sub-study 4

Sub-study 4 will look at how to improve user involvement among refugees in the introduction programme. The collaboration between services is also in focus.

What needs to be done to improve the adaption of the introduction programme, as well as the collaboration between different services, to adapt the introduction programme to refugees with health challenges.

Can we find alternative solutions to avoid sick leave and prevent people from leaving the introduction programme?

In this sub-study, we will conduct dialogue seminars in the three participating municipalities.

Leader of sub-study 4: 
Gunn Elin Fedreheim

Sub-study 5

Sub-study 5 will include dissemination of results from the project via scientific and popular science publications, meetings with stakeholders and municipalities, participation in dialogue seminars, and more.

Leader of sub-study 5: 
Johanna Laue