The Role of Film as Persuasive Tool of Social Change: Since the introduction of cinema, both non-fiction and fictional films have been used by film makers, artists, and interest groups to change minds and mold opinions. Documentary films in particular, have a history of being used in a variety of ways to further political causes, raise social or patriotic awareness, or as a call to personal activism. In this project, the use of well designed, aesthetically pleasing documentaries have been advocated for potential use in the field of sport psychology to create awareness of the work of practitioners in order to promote healthy behaviors. Filmmaking can serve the field in a number of creative ways. A recent film is submitted as a demonstration of how a well crafted film can be utilized within the field as both a advocacy piece and an educational resource. There has been a long, historical relationship between sports and film. Throughout cinematic history there have been numerous films, both narrative and documentaries, both about sports or subjects that included sports in their story. Sports lend themselves to narrative and documentary storytelling. As a filmmaker, I was drawn to a story about a non-profit organization, "Gearing Up," which uses a bicycle exercise program to help women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The film explores the effectiveness of a therapeutic model developed by "Gearing Up" founder, Kristin Gavin. The production of the film, and my involvement as the producer and director, inspired me to explore the further use of documentary film as both a classroom teaching tool and a vehicle that can inspire behavioral change. / Kinesiology / Accompanied by one .mp4 file: Braking Cycles.

Compared to other developed countries, the United States has healthcare spending that far outpaces other nations, but achieves below-average life expectancy. In urban cities, this disparity is most striking among predominantly black and Latino communities. There is increasing recognition that the reason for this is improper allocation of resources; we have a system that funds clinical services which contribute to only 20% of health outcomes, while providing inadequate support for social and environmental factors which account for 80% of the impact. When one considers the history of the United States, it becomes clear that such a system is not only inefficient, but also fundamentally unjust. African American patients have been used (often without consent) to obtain much of our current medical knowledge, but suffer most from healthcare disparities. Medical school is a fascinating lens from which to view this healthcare system, as students stand at the threshold between layperson and physician. Medical students, who predominantly come from backgrounds of privilege, benefit from access to institutions of medical knowledge. They often practice their fledgling skills on urban underserved patients who are disproportionately cared for in academic medical centers. Medical students also participate in service projects in the surrounding community, with common projects involving schools, churches, and free clinics. As a medical student, I spent nearly 100 hours with a class of ninth grade students at a Philadelphia public high school as I developed and implemented a health careers elective program. Through this experience, I gained a firsthand appreciation for the incredible barriers that prevent urban underserved students from equal representation in our medical schools and health care workforce. Here, I reflect on my experiences over the course of medical school, review relevant literature in the fields of ethics, medicine, education, and history, and present recommendations to move us closer to a just healthcare system by increasing investment in underserved communities and instilling in medical students a moral imperative to reduce health disparities, as well as the tools to do so effectively. / Urban Bioethics

Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone and skeletal system which weakens bone structure and results in fractures. The disease has caused a heavy economic burden in the U.S., especially among Americans over the age of 50. According to The Surgeon General's report on bone health in 2004 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (USDHHS), 2004), an estimated 10 million Americans over age 50 have osteoporosis, and another 34 million have osteopenia and are at risk of osteoporosis. The projected cost directly associated with osteoporosis is $34.0 billion in 2005 and will rise to more than $41.4 billion in 2025 (Vanness & Tosteson, 2005). Osteoporosis also results in serious and often devastating health problems for affected individuals (Riggs & Melton, 1995) because of the fractures it causes. Riggs and Melton (1995) estimated that each year 1.5 million people suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture. Unlike genetic risk factors that can be nearly impossible to modify, living on a calcium-rich diet is a lifestyle choice. Effective intervention programs can be useful tools to educate people to adopt a calcium-rich diet. Studies have shown that a calcium-rich diet can increase bone mineral density and intervention programs can facilitate the process of the lifestyle change (Wong, Lau, E.M., Lau, W.W., & Lynn, 2004; Lv & Brown, 2011). However, effective intervention programs against osteoporosis are limited for minorities, and specifically, for elderly Chinese women. The prevalence of osteoporosis in Chinese women is high but the knowledge level is low (Babbar et al., 2006; Lau, Woo, Leung, Swaminathan, & Leung, 1992), which provides an opportunity for intervention. A community-based intervention program was designed based on the modified health belief model (HBM). Its content was specifically tailored to the cultural background and the characteristics of the Chinese women living in the Greater Philadelphia area, based on the findings from previous studies. The intervention program was implemented and its effectiveness was evaluated in a 2-group quasi-experimental study. The study recruited eight (8) Chinese community organizations and assigned them to receive either the intervention program or the control program according to the timing of their agreement to participate and the balance of total participants recruited for each study group at the time. A total of 102 Chinese women were enrolled from the three (3) organizations that were assigned to the Intervention Group and 90 from the five (5) organizations that were assigned to the Control Group. Participants in the Intervention Group received a 30-mintue education session delivered in Chinese (Mandarin). The education focused on the Health Belief Model constructs in the context of osteoporosis intervention. It provided information about osteoporosis, including the functions of the bones, prevalence and risk factors. It highlighted participants' susceptibility to osteoporosis, the consequences and severity of the disease, and targeted messages to increase self-efficacy and decrease barriers. The contents were tailored to the study population. The osteoporosis education was delivered in plain language to suit the population's low educational level and used examples relevant to their cultural background. Participants in the Control Group watched a 30-minute video about liver functions and hepatitis B transmission and prevention. The study tested three (3) primary hypotheses that, compared with the Control Group, the Intervention Group at post-intervention would have 1) a higher knowledge level of osteoporosis, 2) a higher self-efficacy for adopting a calcium-rich diet, and 3) a higher intention level to consume more calcium-rich food items. The data were collected at three time points: baseline, post-intervention, and three months after the intervention. The scores of knowledge level and self-efficacy were analyzed by mixed linear regression models with adjustment of the baseline variables and accounted for the correlations among the participants from the same site. The intention stage was analyzed by a multinomial logistic regression model with adjustment of baseline intention stage and the baseline variables. The results for the study were consistent with all three primary hypotheses. The intervention program increased the knowledge level of osteoporosis and perceived self-efficacy in the Intervention Group. At post-intervention, the differences between the two study groups was 0.17 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.32; p-value<0.037) for the knowledge scores, and 0.34 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.56; p-value<0.001) for the self-efficacy scores. The results also suggested that the intervention program moved the participants in the Intervention Group to higher intention stages. The odds ratio (Intervention/Control Group) of being at a higher intention stage was 3.29 (95% CI: 1.23, 8.82; p-value=0.016). The study showed that the community-based and culturally tailored intervention program designed for the elderly Chinese women was effective. It increased the osteoporosis knowledge level and self-efficacy for adopting a calcium-rich diet and moved participants to a higher intention stage of consuming more calcium-rich food items. Additionally, the study showed that more than 50% of the participants had low bone mass. In conclusion, this intervention program reached a hard-to-reach population of elderly Chinese women and provided public health professionals a useful tool to work with. The high provalance of low bone mass in this population provided the public health agencies useful information to aid their decisions on resource allocation. / Public Health

The dissertation aims to expand access through a low-cost technological innovation system S-MLS to learners in underdeveloped areas with difficulties in accessing education. Technology is advancing rapidly. However, many parts of the world need access to educational advances, which are hindered due to war, political situations, and low literacy and income. A qualitative phenomenological approach explores the lived experience using the solar-powered computing and learning management system (LMS) to support the development of educational access in underrepresented societies, developing countries, and rural areas where access to proper classroom education is non-existent. Proof of concept is used with a group of students in a rural area, a developing country, and within an underrepresented population to check the feasibility of using the equipment in a real-world setting. A technology acceptance model would be used to identify the user's perceived interest and user acceptance. The community of inquiry theory would find the first-hand experience and point of view of the learner. The student group interviews would be through semi-structured interviews. Observations, surveys, video/audio recordings, and artifacts would be gathered for further analysis. The data collected would be analyzed using interpretative phenomenology analysis (IPA), close examination, and management of development themes through thoughts, observations, and reflections on the technological experience and future research and implementations provided. The projected finding would be to check that a solar-powered Raspberry Pi system with MoodleBox operating system that runs Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) LMS would be feasible to provide learning underdeveloped areas to enhance education.

La réflexion est considérée comme un élément significatif de la pédagogie et de la pratique médicales sans qu’il n’existe de consensus sur sa définition ou sur sa modélisation. Comme la réflexion prend concurremment plusieurs sens, elle est difficile à opérationnaliser. Une définition et un modèle standard sont requis afin d’améliorer le développement d’applications pratiques de la réflexion. Dans ce mémoire, nous identifions, explorons et analysons thématiquement les conceptualisations les plus influentes de la réflexion, et développons de nouveaux modèle et définition. La réflexion est définie comme le processus de s’engager (le « soi » (S)) dans des interactions attentives, critiques, exploratoires et itératives (ACEI) avec ses pensées et ses actions (PA), leurs cadres conceptuels sous-jacents (CC), en visant à les changer et en examinant le changement lui-même (VC). Notre modèle conceptuel comprend les cinq composantes internes de la réflexion et les éléments extrinsèques qui l’influencent. / Although reflection is considered a significant component of medical education and practice, the literature does not provide a consensual definition or model for it. Because reflection has taken on multiple meanings, it remains difficult to operationalize. A standard definition and model are needed to improve the development of practical applications of reflection. In this master’s thesis, we identify, explore and thematically analyze the most influential conceptualizations of reflection, and develop a new theory-informed and unified definition and model of reflection. Reflection is defined as the process of engaging the self (S) in attentive, critical, exploratory and iterative (ACEI) interactions with one’s thoughts and actions (TA), and their underlying conceptual frame (CF), with a view to changing them and a view on the change itself (VC). Our conceptual model consists of the five defining core components, supplemented with the extrinsic elements that influence reflection.

The diploma thesis "Children and Adult Motivation to Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle" deals with the possibilities of supporting and directing an individual to a responsible lifestyle. It addresses the issues of education regarding the habits of healthy and active lifestyle as a prerequisite of a full life. In the theoretical part, it defines the healthy lifestyle, its particular characteristics as well as the factors that influence it. In the empirical part, it uses a questionnaire survey to establish the motivation of modern children and adults to the desirable lifestyle. The thesis is intended to bring an actual view of the problems in question.

A formação de recursos humanos para atuar no setor da saúde mental constitui elemento estratégico para a efetiva consolidação do modelo psicossocial de atenção, tendo em vista que a principal tecnologia utilizada nesta área é o próprio trabalhador. Nesse contexto, o presente estudo teve como foco o programa Grupo Comunitário de Saúde Mental (GCSM), desenvolvido na cidade de Ribeirão Preto- SP, que vem atuando como estratégia de ampliação e diversificação dos programas de cuidado em Saúde Mental e também como espaço de formação de profissionais de saúde. Objetivou-se compreender as experiências de estudantes e profissionais em processo de formação com o Programa GCSM e os desdobramentos de sua apropriação no percurso de formação profissional em saúde/saúde mental. Está ancorado em uma abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa e utilizou como instrumentos a observação participante e a entrevista aberta. Os dados foram coletados no período de agosto de 2015 a fevereiro de 2016 e os participantes foram: cinco estudantes das áreas de Enfermagem, Terapia Ocupacional e Fisioterapia e dez profissionais em formação das áreas de Psicologia, Medicina e Serviço Social, totalizando 15 participantes. A análise do corpus foi realizada seguindo os princípios da Análise de Conteúdo Temática e possibilitou a construção de cinco categorias, a saber: 1) A formação em saúde/saúde mental aponta experiências de formação vividas pelos entrevistados e revela um processo formativo atravessado pela centralidade e autoridade do profissional em relação ao paciente e pelo distanciamento afetivo; 2) Primeiros contatos com o GCSM: um novo modelo descreve as experiências iniciais dos entrevistados com uma modalidade grupal inovadora e o processo de ambientação em relação à mesma; 3) O GCSM sob a perspectiva de estudantes e profissionais em formação: a horizontalidade em questão aborda o processo de participação no GCSM, as vivências e apropriações da proposta grupal, sob os pontos de vista individual e relacional. Revela uma ampliação gradual das possibilidades de experimentar o lugar profissional no espaço, concomitantemente a uma maior abertura pessoal e ruptura com um modelo idealizado de profissional; 4) Ampliando olhares acerca da pessoa em sofrimento psíquico: da doença à potência sugere uma ampliação dos olhares e concepções acerca da pessoa em sofrimento psíquico e redução de estereótipos, oportunizada pelo contato, no espaço do GCSM, com outras facetas dos usuários de serviços de saúde mental; 5) O GCSM como experiência formativa aborda os desdobramentos da experiência vivida com o GCSM no percurso de formação em saúde mental e também para outros contextos, revelando uma ampliação dos modos de produzir o cuidado em saúde/saúde mental. Com base na análise empreendida pode-se afirmar que a proposta vivencial, presente no modelo do GCSM, apresenta contribuições tanto do ponto de vista da formação técnica quanto no que tange ao desenvolvimento humano do profissional. Destaca-se que este estudo traz avanços para se pensar a formação realizada em serviços-escola no campo da saúde mental e que tal compreensão pode colaborar com a consolidação do modelo psicossocial de atenção. / The qualification for human resources to work in the mental health area is a strategic element for the effective consolidation of the psychosocial care model, considering that the main technology used in this area is the worker himself. In this context, the present study focused on the Mental Health Community Group (GCSM) Program, developed in the city of Ribeirão Preto, SP, which has been acting as a strategy for expanding and diversifying mental health care programs and also as a qualification space for health professionals. The aim was to understand the experiences of students and training professionals with the GCSM Program and the unfolding of their appropriation in the professional qualification path in health/mental health. It is anchored in a qualitative research approach and used as instruments participant observation and open interview. The data were collected from August 2015 to February 2016 and the participants were: five students from the areas of Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and ten training professionals in the areas of Psychology, Medicine and Social Work, totaling 15 participants. The analysis of the corpus was carried out following the principles of the Thematic Content Analysis and it enabled the construction of five categories, namely: 1) Qualification in health/mental health - shows formative experiences lived by the interviewees and reveals a formative process crossed by the centrality and authority of the professional in relation to the patient and by affective distance; 2) First contacts with GCSM: a new model - describes the initial experiences of the interviewees with an innovative group modality and the setting process in relation to it; 3) GCSM from the perspective of students and training professionals: the horizontality in question - addresses the process of participation in the GCSM, the experiences and appropriations of the group proposal, from an individual and relational point of view. It reveals a gradual increase in the possibilities to experiment the professional place in the space, concomitantly to a greater personal opening and rupture with an idealized model of professional; 4) Expanding the view of the person in psychological distress: from illness to power - suggests an enlargement of the views and conceptions about the person in psychological distress and reduction of stereotypes, provided by the contact in the GCSM space with other aspects of the users of mental health services; 5) GCSM as a formative experience - addresses the unfolding of experience with GCSM in the course of mental health qualification and also in other contexts, revealing a broader way of producing care in health/mental health. Based on the analysis undertaken, it can be affirmed that the experiential proposal, present in the GCSM model, presents contributions both from the point of view of technical training and with regard to the human development of the professional. It should be emphasized that this study brings advances to think about the training performed in school-services in the mental health field and this comprehension can contribute to the consolidation of the psychosocial model of care.

Noventa e três professores de educação física (PrEF) de 5a a 8a séries da rede pública (44) e da rede particular de ensino (49) foram solicitados a responder um questionário de 54 itens, para estabelecer o nível de conhecimento sobre asma e seu manuseio, exercício e suas atitudes em relação à asma e suas crises. Os questionários foram preenchidos durante o horário escolar sem nenhuma consulta e houve um alto índice de resposta dos professores das escolas públicas (86%) e das escolas particulares (69%). Nossos resultados mostram que os PrEF das escolas públicas e particulares apresentaram conhecimento regular sobre asma (60%) e exercício (66,6%), entretanto o conhecimento sobre os medicamentos para asma foi limitado (44%). Não foi observada diferença no conhecimento sobre asma entre PrEF de escolas públicas e particulares. Embora metade dos professores apresentasse experiência prévia em asma (pessoal, 13,8%; familiar, 39%), o nível de conhecimento foi similar quando comparado com aqueles que não tinham experiência prévia sobre a doença. A maioria dos professores também relatou a necessidade de informações sobre a asma, preferencialmente por meio de aula expositiva com médicos ou treinamento prático. Nossos resultados sugerem que os professores de educação física da rede pública e particular de ensino necessitam de maiores informações sobre asma, independente de apresentarem uma experiência prévia sobre a doença. Além disto, foi observado que o menor conhecimento sobre o assunto foi relativo aos medicamentos utilizados pelos asmáticos / Ninety-three teachers of physical education (TPE) from public (44) and private (49) elementary schools in Sao Paulo were asked to respond a 54-item questionnaire about general asthma knowledge, exercise, medication and teacher\'s attitude toward asthma attack. Questionnaires were answered during school time without any consulting and there was a high response rate from public (86%) and private (69%) school teachers. Our results showed that TPE from public and private schools presented a regular knowledge about asthma (60%) and exercise (66.6%), nevertheless, they showed a low knowledge about asthma medication (44%). We did not observe any difference on asthma knowledge between TPE from public and private schools. Although half of the teachers presented previous asthma experience (personal, 13.8%; family, 39%), they had similar knowledge compared to teachers without previous asthma experience. Most teachers also related necessity of information on asthma through expositive classes with physicians or practical training. Our results showed that teachers of physical education from public and private schools in Brazil require information on asthma independent on previous experience on asthma. Besides, these teachers presented lower knowledge on asthma medication

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2018-03-09T19:18:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vinicius Ximenes Muricy da Rocha.pdf: 1516067 bytes, checksum: bd88ab6000c614e02967ede90513e849 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-09T19:18:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vinicius Ximenes Muricy da Rocha.pdf: 1516067 bytes, checksum: bd88ab6000c614e02967ede90513e849 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-12 / This paper deals with a qualitative research, of a documentary nature, addressing a comparative analysis between Resolution CNE / CES nº 4 of November 7, 2001 and Resolution No. 3 of June 20, 2014, which deal with the National Curricular Guidelines (DCN) of the Undergraduate Medical Courses. These documents are responsible for the official character that reforms in medical education in the country have been occurring since the beginning of the 2000s, in order to deepen the relationship between medical education and the Unified Health System (SUS). The DCN 2014 arose under the advent of the More Doctors Program, based on the provisions of Law 12,871, of October 22, 2013. This law, which is the target of controversy and attacks by various sectors of political society, media and medical corporation, seeks Update the country's medical education to the changes that have occurred in Brazil's health and education public policies in the last 15 years, in the sense of guidelines that include access to social rights, equity, qualification of public services, changes in health care policies, social inclusion and Democratization of higher education. Thus, the objective of the study is to analyze the relationships between the DCN 2001 and the 2014, taking into account their continuities, differences, innovations and established changes; 2- Reflect on the meanings that similar or related concepts of medical education used in different epochs take on historical contexts marked by different temporalities; 3- To elaborate notes on the potential of innovation / change / transformation of the proposals presented by the DCN 2014. For this purpose the Content Analysis was used as analysis methods, with reference in Bardin and Franco; And the History of Concepts, with a reference in Koselleck and Marçal Brandão. As conclusion, the work shows an important conceptual and normative effort of the new DCN 2014, which seeks to induce Brazilian medical schools to move from a level of innovations to changes, in the reformist sense that this new device presents itself. However, the success of such a policy will depend on a number of objective conditions, which involve the risk of retrogression in social policies after the approval of Constitutional Amendment 55/2016, and the eventual stagnation of the country's social policies, including in the health and education sectors, As well as the interference that the external relations of the sectors of opposition to the Mais Médicos Program will be able to have in the scope of the medical schools in the country. Consequently, the work points to the importance of the continuity of research that evaluates the concrete implementation of the new DCNs, in the sense of materializing what it advocates in its scope, as well as problematizes the need for a critical understanding in the incorporation of the pedagogy of competences as element Structuring of medical training in each course, since it can reproduce an individualistic logic of learning construction, potentially "capable" by the liberal logic that permeates hegemonic ideology in the corporate organization processes of medical practice in Brazil. That is, there will be no change or transformation. / O presente trabalho trata de pesquisa qualitativa, de cunho documental, abordando análise comparativa entre a Resolução CNE/CES nº 4, de 7 de Novembro de 2001 e a Resolução Nº 3, de 20 de Junho de 2014, que versam sobre as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN) dos Cursos de Graduação em Medicina. Tais documentos são responsáveis pelo caráter oficial que as reformas na educação médica do país vêm ocorrendo desde o início dos anos 2000, no sentido de aprofundar a relação da formação médica com o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). A DCN 2014 surgiu sob o advento do Programa Mais Médicos, a partir das determinações da Lei 12.871, de 22 de outubro de 2013. Esta lei, alvo de polêmicas e ataques por diversos setores da sociedade política, meios de comunicação e corporação médica, busca atualizar a formação médica do país às mudanças que ocorreram nas políticas públicas de saúde e educação do Brasil nos últimos 15 anos, no sentido das pautas que envolvem acesso a direitos sociais, equidade, qualificação dos serviços públicos, mudanças nas políticas de assistência à saúde, inclusão social e democratização do ensino superior. Assim o trabalho tem por objetivo 1 ¿ Analisar, sob as bases do referencial teórico estabelecido, as relações entre as DCN 2001 e as de 2014, levando em consideração suas continuidades, diferenças, inovações e mudanças estabelecidas; 2- Refletir sobre as significações que conceitos similares ou conexos, da educação médica, utilizados em épocas distintas, tomam frente a contextos históricos marcados por temporalidades diferentes; 3- Elaborar apontamentos sobre o potencial de inovação/mudança/transformação das propostas apresentadas pelas DCN 2014. Para tal intuito se utilizou como métodos de análise a Análise de Conteúdo, com referencial em Bardin e Franco; e a História dos Conceitos, com referencial em Koselleck e Marçal Brandão. Como conclusão o trabalho mostra um esforço conceitual e normativo importante da nova DCN 2014, que busca induzir que as escolas médicas brasileiras avancem de um patamar de inovações para mudanças, no sentido reformista que este novo dispositivo se apresenta. Contudo o sucesso de tal política dependerá de diversas condições objetivas, que envolvem os riscos de retrocessos nas políticas sociais a partir da aprovação da Emenda Constitucional 55/2016, e a eventual estagnação das políticas sociais do país, inclusive nos setores saúde e educação, bem como a interferência que as relações externas dos setores de oposição ao Programa Mais Médicos conseguirão ter no âmbito das escolas médicas no país. Conseqüentemente, o trabalho aponta para a importância da continuidade de pesquisas que avaliem a implementação concreta das novas DCNs, no sentido da materialização daquilo que ela preconiza em seu escopo, bem como problematiza a necessidade de uma compreensão crítica na incorporação da pedagogia das competências como elemento estruturante da formação médica em cada curso, visto que a mesma, sem mediações, pode reproduzir uma lógica individualista de construção do aprendizado, potencialmente ¿capturável¿ pela lógica liberal que permeia a ideologia hegemônica nos processos organização corporativa da prática médica no Brasil. Ou seja, assim não se produzirão mudanças e nem transformação.

The introduction of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans proposed in the Children and Families Act 2014 has aimed to give parents and children who are going through the assessment process greater control and choice in decisions, and enhance the multi-professional collaboration between education, health services and social care. This research seeks to evaluate to what extent parents’, children and young people’s, and professionals' experiences correspond to these values at an early stage of implementation. The methodology of this thesis is based on a realistic evaluation framework informed by the work of Pawson and Tilley (1997). Realistic evaluation aims to construct a programme theory which links three distinct broad aspects of a programme: its context, mechanisms and outcomes (C-M-Os). This research employs a programme theory of how an EHC assessment is conducted and has been developed from the current literature on person-centred theory. Person-centred theory has been chosen because of its corresponding value base to the SEND reforms and the recommendation of its use in a number of government policy documents including the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2014). The programme theory has been used to devise questionnaires that have sought to gain professionals' experiences of the assessment process, particularly in relation to multi-agency working, and their perceptions of the person-centred nature of the assessment. In addition, five case studies have explored these issues in more depth to ascertain whether the EHC assessment process in this authority is meeting the core aims of the Children and Families Act 2014. Semi structured interviews and card sorting tasks were devised using the programme theory and conducted with a total of one child, five families and five professionals from five individual EHC assessments. This analysis goes beyond a description of the facilitating factors and barriers to person-centred support and examines how person-centred outcomes arise from specific contexts and mechanisms. Findings suggest that experiences of face-to-face multi-professional collaboration were positive within the EHC assessment group. Nevertheless, professionals expressed frustration that in some cases colleagues were not able to attend meetings due to time constraints, capacity within their services and the commissioning arrangements of their services. Parental and professional experiences of the process appear to be positive. The research demonstrates one case study where a person centred planning approach was utilised very successfully from the perspective of all involved. However, there are significant concerns raised in both phases of this study as to the way in which children and young people are provided with opportunities of contributing to their EHC assessment. The findings are relevant to the development of the EHC assessment process in the local authority (LA) in which I am employed, and will contribute to the debate about the role of educational psychologists (EPs) in evaluating this national policy.