A case study exploring perceptions of stakeholders in a multidisciplinary school-based health center

Pettitt, Catherine Joanne (2022) A case study exploring perceptions of stakeholders in a multidisciplinary school-based health center. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative single case study was to determine how key stakeholders of a school-based health center (SBHC) partnership between a medical university, school district, nonprofit charitable organization, and federally qualified health center (FQHC) define and perceive the functionality and effectiveness of the school-based health center on student outcomes and community buy-in to medical services on a school campus. This research aimed to provide school leaders with ways to ensure successful implementation, development, and sustainability of an SBHC through the collaborative efforts of myriad stakeholders comprising a multidisciplinary team.Participants of the study included the medical director, the chief executive officer of the nonprofit charitable organization, the school board president, a school principal, four classroom teachers, the school nurse, an office manager, a family support specialist, and an instructional assistant. The design of this study was qualitative. Additional information was collected from existing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and researcher fieldnotes. Research Question 1 addressed how significant stakeholders in SBHC implementation narrate their experiences with establishing contracts in the process of SBHC development. Institutional reform efforts were driven by systems thinking and political considerations through collective interest in organizational, community change efforts. Research Question 2 asked about the perceived strengths and weaknesses of a medical university SBHC regarding their family communication and community buy-in processes. Strengths included the holistic benefit to staff, students, and community, yet growth needs were identified in awareness, intersectional influence, and accessibility. Research Question 3 asked how a medical university SBHC influenced the organizational structure of a school. Adaptations within the school district were fostered through the explicit parameters of the memorandums of understanding, yet trust, buy-in, and acceptance of the SBHC clinic were partially secured through preexisting charitable and community engagement structures in the school community, through which the incorporation of an SBHC grew a furthered complement to the mission of a holistic social enterprise. Research question 4 asked how SBHC stakeholders create intersectional systemic collaboration. Requisite of collaboration, distributed leadership conditions and structures were necessary to enact an MOU between a medical university, a nonprofit charitable organization, an FQHC, and many other departments within a school district in order for stakeholders to understand and be involved. Research question 5 focused on how a school principal contributes to the successful launch and implementation of an SBHC. Principal leadership is required for shared accountability and distributed leadership practices, which hinges upon preexisting leadership change efforts in the school community. Overall, the data presented consistent themes of the crucial role of informal leadership within a distributed leadership multidisciplinary change movement, with the school nurse and classroom teachers leading the sustainability, community buy-in, and organizational trust of families receiving medical care on a school campus.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	School-based health centers; Federally Qualified Health Centers; Family medicine;
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
MeSH Subjects:	N Health Care > N02 Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2023 17:37
Last Modified:	13 Jun 2023 17:37
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6012

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