“We found a solution, sort of” – A qualitative interview study with children and parents on their experiences of the coordinated individual plan (CIP) in Sweden

• Main Authors: Berith Hedberg, Erik Nordström, Sofia Kjellström, Iréne Josephson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-01-01
• Series: Cogent Medicine
• Subjects: alliances; children; coordinated individual plans; coordination; service user involvement
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2018.1428033

Children and adolescents receiving services from two professional parties may obtain support with a coordinated individual plan (CIP). The Swedish law prescribes that CIP must incorporate service user participation. This study aims to explore children and parents’ experiences of participating in CIP-process to generate knowledge with practical implications of how children and parents may be involved in the CIP-process. A descriptive qualitative interview study with 13 service users was conducted during November 2014 to March 2016. Data were audio-recorded and transcribed, and further subjected to qualitative content analysis. Three main descriptive categories with six subcategories emerged. The category “Struggle for coordination” includes service users’ need for participation which are limited by professionals’ lack of consensus. The category “Alliance for coordination” points out the importance of relationship and personal support to accomplish functional coordination. The category “Structure for coordination” shows how the structure facilitate service user involvement on a high level. Service user involvement seemed limited by professionals’ actions, but could be facilitated by support of professionals working in the child’s daily life. Structured coordination seems to relieve the pressure on parents, as well as children, but CIP needs to be individually tailored to reach its full potential.