This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
How is your research put to use?
– We are a team of researchers and psychologists from Frambu Resource Centre for Rare Disorders and the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Since 2012, we have developed what has become “SIBS”, a manualised intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders.
– The aim of SIBS is to improve the communication between children and parents. The programme includes practical training in talking together about the diagnosis and family challenges, with the motto for parents being to “listen, explore, and validate”. We have conducted several evaluation studies of SIBS in Norway, Denmark, Cambodia, and the USA. We have trained over 600 group leaders in Norway and internationally, and SIBS is used in several Norwegian municipalities and health trusts. SIBS is also used in multiple Danish municipalities.
Who used the results - for instance in policy, in practice, in private sector, public administration or civil society?
– The results from these projects have been cited in most of the major media outlets in Norway. I have received feedback that the forecasting model I built for NRK is extremely valuable for their election coverage. I also know that other media outlets are interested in the model.
– In addition, my website has seen heavy traffic from ordinary citizens and politicians. Before the 2021 election, I was contacted by sitting members of parliament and aspiring candidates who were eager to know how the election might turn out, and who used the website to put isolated opinion polls into perspective.
How have you worked to ensure that your research contributes to a positive social development?
– This is teamwork. We have worked systematically over a long period, and we have also followed many dead ends on what has gradually become quite a broad avenue with many side roads. What we have done well is close and systematic collaboration with users — by which we mean both families and healthcare professionals in the field. We have travelled extensively and been very active internationally.
– We apply continuously for research funding, and although overall we receive more rejections than awards, over the past 10 years we have had a steady (if unpredictable) flow of funding for this work.
– We teach many healthcare personnel at various levels and communicate widely. Our group has broad expertise, and we are good at different things. Torun is a strong communicator and developer. Krister focuses more on the research side, but both of us work across all parts of SIBS.
Do you have any tips or experiences you want to share with colleagues, so that their research is put to use?
– If we were to highlight anything, it would be team thinking, contact with the practice field, an overall “say yes to most things” attitude, generosity towards each other’s shortcomings and mistakes, patience — and perhaps most importantly, a burning commitment to the target group. For us, that means families of children with chronic disorders, a group with significant unmet needs, especially given today’s strained municipal budgets.