Optimization and Testing Effectiveness of a Collaborative Intervention for School Attendance Problems in Norwegian Municipalities

NCT07463001 — Not applicable, Recruiting, 240 participants, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

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Registry	NCT07463001
Status	Recruiting
Phase	Not applicable
Study type	Interventional; randomized, crossover, masking: none, prevention
Enrollment	240 (Estimated)
Sponsor	Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Other); collaborators: The Research Council of Norway, University of Tromso, University of Bergen, Regionsenter for barn og unges psykiske helse, Regionalt kunnskapssenter for barn og unge - Nord, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, University of Stavanger, University of Aarhus
Conditions	School Attendance Problems
Interventions	Back2School (Behavioral)
Dates	start 2026-04-10, primary completion 2028-12-31 (estimated), completion 2029-03-01 (estimated), first posted 2026-03-10, last updated 2026-10-15
Locations	4 sites in Norway

-Summary

In this study we will investigate the effects of an intervention called Back2School, revised and adapted for Norwegian conditions on school attendance. A total of 240 participants will be recruited. All participants who have been enrolled will receive the intervention. Half of the participants will receive the intervention without delay (the experiment group), and the other half will receive it following a 13-week period (the control group). Following consent, screening for eligibility and randomization, the intervention will start with an assessment related to the individual participant and condition at the participants' school. Based on this a shared understanding and an intervention plan is developed. Over a 13-week period the youth, the family and the school, work together guided by the municipal team to increase attendance and solve problems related to this. Assessments will be carried out after the intervention and 6 months later.

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+Arms and interventions

Arm	Type	Interventions	Description
Direct intervention	Experimental	Behavioral: Back2School	Participants randomized to this intervention will receive the 13 week intervention Back2School starting immediately after randomization.
Delayed intervention/ Wait list control	Other	Behavioral: Back2School	Participants randomized to delayed intervention will ha to wait for 13-15 weeks following randomization before the intervention is started. During the waiting phase they can receive treatment as usual

Back2School (Behavioral): The revised Back2S school manual consists of an initial assessment, a case formulation conference, 16 sessions and 3 meetings with different participants (parents, youth, school personnel) over 13 weeks. There is a booster session 12 weeks after the final session and one 24 weeks after the final session.

+Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

School attendance [Direct: Avg at Baseline, 2 weeks at end (13 weeks from baseline), 2 weeks at 6 months (37 w from baseline) Delayed: Avg at baseline, 2 weeks before start (13 w from baseline) 2 weeks at end (28 w from baseline), 2 weeks at 6 months (54 w from baseline)]: School attendance measured on a daily basis by teacher.
General functioning [Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3)]: Impact on daily life as measured by the SDQ impact scale

Secondary outcomes

Change in Quality of life [Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3)]: Measures perceived quality of life as reported by parents and child using Kidscreen 10
Change in symptoms of anxiety [Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3)]: Measures change in symptoms of anxiety as measured by the SCAS reported by parents and child
Change in symptoms of Depression [Direct start group: Will be measured at Baseline (T1), Week 15 from baseline (T2), Week 37 from baseline (T3) Delayed access group: Baseline (T1), Week 15 from Baseline (T1a), Week 29 from baseline (T2), Week 54 from baseline (T3)]: Change in symptoms of depression reported by child and parents using the SMFQ

+Eligibility

Sex: All, ages: 9 Years to 15 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participants must be between the ages of 9 and 15 at the time of enrollment.
2. Participants must have less than 80% attendance for the last 12 weeks of school at the time of screening.
3. At least one parent has to talk and understand Norwegian.
4. At least one parent has to be motivated to participate.
5. The school must agree to participate in the intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

1 The participant has a known diagnosis of autism-spectrum disorder, psychosis, and/or eating disorder.

2\. Participant needs acute psychiatric intervention.

+Locations (4)

Facility	City	Country	Status
NORCE, RKBU Vest	Bergen	Norway	Recruiting
Pilar, Regionsenter for barn og unges psykiske helse	Oslo	Norway	Recruiting
UIT, RKBU Nord	Tromsø	Norway	Recruiting
Norwegian University of Scinece and Technology	Trondheim	Norway	Recruiting

+Investigators

Jo Magne Ingul, phd, Principal investigator, Norwegian University of Science and Technology