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Tina Olsson

Senior Lecturer

Department of Social Work
Mail
tina.olsson@socwork.gu.se
Visiting address
Sprängkullsgatan 25
41123 Göteborg
Room number
K205
Postal address
Box 720
40530 Göteborg

About Tina Olsson

About

Tina Olsson is an associate professor in Social Work and her work centers around issues relevant to the development, implementation and testing of social interventions in practice settings and how the study of issues relevant to this line of research may be advanced. This interest grew out of over 15 years of direct service experience in the United States and Sweden with primarily child and youth populations including: children and youth at risk of removal from the home, children and youth in out-of-home care, youth involved with the juvenile justice system, youth expecting children or raising children of their own, and youth without stable housing. Tina Olsson has worked with various policy making bodies interested in improving the life chances of a variety of vulnerable populations such as: the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington D.C., USA; the World Bank Group, Washington, D.C., USA; the National Board of Health and Welfare, Stockholm, Sweden; the National Board of Institutional Care, Stockholm, Sweden; the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, Stockholm Sweden; the Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and, the Ministry of Labor, Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

Current scholarly work

Tina Olsson is currently investigator, co-principal investigator or principal investigator of externally funded projects in excess of 19 million Swedish crowns. In addition, Tina Olsson is chair of the Intervention and Implementation Research platform at the Department of Social Work, Gothenburg University as well as being an active member of the Research Network on Applied Developmental Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University and the Network for Collaborative Research at the University of Borås.

Current research projects

Leaving Care - a comparison study of implementation, change mechanisms and effectiveness of transition services for youth. The purpose of this project is to increase our understanding of the development, implementation and effectiveness of interventions for young people transitioning from societal care to independent living. The project examines the effect of interventions and how change mechanisms relate to a range of outcomes. The aim of the project is to develop our practical and empirical understanding of how interventions for young people placed in societal care in Sweden can be developed and implemented. The project takes place in close collaboration with municipalities and the NGO SOS Children's Villages. Short-term, long-termand implementation effects are investigated by comparing My choice - my way! with transition services providedby SOS Children’s Villages and the usual municipal services. (FORTE)

Evaluating Talking Mats as decision aid to promote involvement in choice and decision-making around home careservices for older people living with cognitive impairment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the Talking Mats decision aid in the needs assessment and planning of home care services for older people with cognitive impairment. We designed a two-armed RCT study, to evaluate the effect and implementation of Talking Mats, both quantitatively and qualitatively, in collaboration between R & D Sjuhärad and the Department of Social Work at Gothenburg University. (FORTE)

Suicide prevention via active measures - an evaluation of AGAPE 2017-2020: This study arms to develop an undertanding of the impact of a social mobilization program on unaccompanied minors with specific focus on suicide prevention. (Folkhälsomyndigheten)

PsPATHS: Preschool Promoting Alterntiv Thinking Strategies (PsPATHS) is an evidence based intervention (EBI) developed in the USA to promote social emotional competence in preschool children. This project is a randomized controlled trial of PsPATHS effectiveness in Sweden. Implementation drivers and the meaning of culture i preschool environments is also investigated. The culteral adaptation of PsPATHS from the American to Swedish context has been guided systematically by the Planned Intervention Adaptation (PIA) protocol. There are currently 300 four- and five-year olds in a number of preschools enrolled in the study. (FORTE)

Pathways to Employment - a comparison of municipal and private emploiyment programs' effects, mechanisms and implementation is a comparison study of the implementation and effects of several active labor market programs in the Gothenburg area. (FORTE)

Completed research projects

Support to youth in their transition from out-of-home care to independent living: This planning project is a collaboration between the municipal social services in Farsta, Stockholm, GU and LU. The aim of this project is to develop and preliminarily test a supportive intervention aimed at increasing youth outcomes in transition from out-of-home care to independent living. (FORTE)

Talking Mats: This planning project arms to implementering and assess the feasibility of using Talking Mats as a Communication support with older adults with demensia. This projekt is a collaboration between GU and Borås kommun. (FORTE)

TAKE CHARGE for youth in their transition from out-of-home care to independent living: a feasibility study. TAKE CHARGE is an evidence-based intervention (EBI) developed in the USA to support youth in their transition from out-of-home care to indpendent living. This project is interested in the extent to which TAKE CHARGE in a Swedish kontext can support youth with school achievement and preparation for independent living. (Allmänna barnhuset)

PsPATHS: Preschool Promoting Alternativ Thinking Strategies (PsPATHS) is an evidence-based intervention (EBI) develope din the USA to adance social and emotionell kompetente amoung preschoolers. This project is a randomized kontroller trial of the intervention's effectiveness in Sweden as well as its implementationer and impact of culture in the preschool environment. (FORMAS)

Lunden study: The Lunden study follows a cohort of women placed in state run institutional care for severe drug dependency according to the Care of Young Persons Act (LVU) and the Law on Compulsory Care for Substance Abusers (LVM) between 1997-2000. The study follows their use of several societal resources over a 30 year period and aims to describe the societal costs that arrise as a result of severe substance abuse. In addition, this study investigates the difference in societal costs that arise as a result of discrete clinical activities provided in conjunction with placement. (The National Board of Institutional Care)

Cost-effectiveness of MultifunC: MultifunC is a structured treatment provided in the context of state insitutional care for youth with severe behavior problems and at high risk for criminal recidivism. The treatment model extends from intake and assessment through placement and aftercare. MultifunC was developed from the evidence base on effective services for this group of youth. This project investigates the cost-effectiveness of MultifunC compared to the traditional services offered this population with state run institutional care. (The National Board of Health and Welfare)

Kvinnofredsprojektet: This project aims to describe and compare the unit costs and treatment costs attached to interventions that were assessed in three national evaluations: the evaluation of treatments for men that engaged in violence in the home, evaluation of social service interventions for women exposed to violence in the home, and evaluation of treatments that support children that have witnessed violence toward their mothers. (The National Board of Health and Welfare)

National comparison of parent training programs (NJF): The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of parent training programs in (1) reducing child social, emotional, and behavioral problems, and (2) improving parenting. For parent training programs are included in the nation wide randomized trial: Connect, COPE, the Increadible Years, and Komet.

Previdence (MST-study): Multisystemic Therapy is a structured family and community based intervention for youth with severe behavior problems. This multi-site, multi-center, randomized controll trial investigates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of MST compare to traditional services offered this group by the municipal social welfare agencies.

Teaching

Tina Olsson currently teaches at the Master and PhD level and is currently advising students and researchers at the PhD candidate and post-doctoral level.