Background
Results from the research project "Mental health in children and adolescents
in child welfare institutions " by The Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU) of Central Norway, NTNU, has indicated that fully 76 per cent are severely ill with psychiatric diagnoses. In comparison, only five to ten percent of children in the general population will ever get a psychiatric diagnosis during the last three months of survey date. The project is part of a larger mission of national authorities; Norwegian Directorate of Health and The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs. An interdisciplinary working group is established with the aim of suggesting preliminary advice and recommendations to ensure that children and adolescents in child welfare institutions receive the necessary and adequate health services they need.
The overall objective of the study is to contribute to increased knowledge of the extent and quality of health services for children in child welfare institutions. More specifically, RKBU and SINTEF will collaborate on mapping experiences with the RGP Scheme, mental health care and interdisciplinary specialized treatment for substance abuse among adolescents in child welfare institutions. We also aim to explore how children should be ensured the necessary and adequate health services in these areas.
The methodological approach from SINTEF's contribution will be to imply an approach based on user-driven innovation and service design. User-driven innovations is based on mapping and understanding the user's existing and unrecognized needs, and then use the knowledge as a basis for development of new services, products, processes and organizational structures. Service design aims to create usable, user friendly, efficient, and attractive solutions for people who deliver and receive service.