The interprofessional practice of health professionals in inclusive schools: A study using respondent-driven sampling

Abstract

The formal incorporation of health professionals to collaborate with teachers is still incipient worldwide. This study analyses the role of speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and kinesiologists working in Schools Integration Programmes in Chile via professional training, educational context characteristics, and the prevailing working conditions for these professionals. A sequential study with a mixed exploratory design was carried out. Interviews (N = 52) and a survey (N = 474) were conducted using respondent-driven sampling. The results of both phases converge, indicating that the role defined for these professionals by policy does not respond to inclusive schools' needs. The participants indicate that professional training is clinical and does not meet the needs of students and schools (48%), that the time dedicated to administrative functions should be regulated because it takes time away from intervention (95%), and that there is a need to promote inclusion within schools (94%). These difficulties affect these professionals’ practice, and imply essential considerations for the implemented policy, universities and schools. The contributions of this study are pioneering and may promote new research in this field, which is still scarce worldwide.