scholarly journals The Use of Mumsnet by Parents of Young People With Mental Health Needs: Qualitative Investigation (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Croucher ◽  
Elif Mertan ◽  
Roz Shafran ◽  
Sophie D Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Qualitative Investigation ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The United Kingdom

BACKGROUND There are high rates of mental health needs in children in the United Kingdom, and parents are increasingly seeking help for their children's needs. However, there is not enough access to child and adolescent mental health services and parents are seeking alternative forms of support and information, often from web-based sources. Mumsnet is the largest web-based parenting forum in the United Kingdom, which includes user-created discussions regarding child mental health. OBJECTIVE This qualitative investigation aimed to explore the emergent themes within the narratives of posts regarding child mental health on Mumsnet and to extrapolate these themes to understand the purpose of Mumsnet for parents of children and young people with mental health needs. METHODS A total of 50 threads from Mumsnet <i>Talk Child Mental Health</i> were extracted. Following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 41 threads were analyzed thematically using the framework approach, a form of qualitative thematic analysis. RESULTS In total, 28 themes were extracted and organized into 3 domains. These domains were <i>emotional support</i>, <i>emotional expression</i>, and <i>advice and information</i>. The results suggested that parents of children with mental health needs predominantly use Mumsnet to offer and receive emotional support and to suggest general advice, techniques, and resources that could be applied outside of help from professional services. CONCLUSIONS This paper discusses the future of health information seeking. Future research is required to establish initiatives in which web-based peer-to-peer support and information can supplement professional services to provide optimum support for parents of children with mental health needs.

scholarly journals The Use of Mumsnet by Parents of Young People With Mental Health Needs: Qualitative Investigation

10.2196/18271 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e18271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Croucher ◽  
Elif Mertan ◽  
Roz Shafran ◽  
Sophie D Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Qualitative Investigation ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The United Kingdom

Background There are high rates of mental health needs in children in the United Kingdom, and parents are increasingly seeking help for their children's needs. However, there is not enough access to child and adolescent mental health services and parents are seeking alternative forms of support and information, often from web-based sources. Mumsnet is the largest web-based parenting forum in the United Kingdom, which includes user-created discussions regarding child mental health. Objective This qualitative investigation aimed to explore the emergent themes within the narratives of posts regarding child mental health on Mumsnet and to extrapolate these themes to understand the purpose of Mumsnet for parents of children and young people with mental health needs. Methods A total of 50 threads from Mumsnet Talk Child Mental Health were extracted. Following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 41 threads were analyzed thematically using the framework approach, a form of qualitative thematic analysis. Results In total, 28 themes were extracted and organized into 3 domains. These domains were emotional support, emotional expression, and advice and information. The results suggested that parents of children with mental health needs predominantly use Mumsnet to offer and receive emotional support and to suggest general advice, techniques, and resources that could be applied outside of help from professional services. Conclusions This paper discusses the future of health information seeking. Future research is required to establish initiatives in which web-based peer-to-peer support and information can supplement professional services to provide optimum support for parents of children with mental health needs.

scholarly journals Supporting the emotional needs of young people in care: a qualitative study of foster carer perspectives

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e033317
Author(s):  
Rachel M Hiller ◽  
Sarah L Halligan ◽  
Richard Meiser-Stedman ◽  
Elizabeth Elliott ◽  
Emily Rutter-Eley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Emotional Needs ◽  
Mental Health Systems ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Qualitative Focus Groups

ObjectivesYoung people who have been removed from their family home and placed in care have often experienced maltreatment and there is well-developed evidence of poor psychological outcomes. Once in care, foster carers often become the adult who provides day-to-day support, yet we know little about how they provide this support or the challenges to and facilitators of promoting better quality carer–child relationships. The aim of this study was to understand how carers support the emotional needs of the young people in their care and their views on barriers and opportunities for support.Design and participantsParticipants were 21 UK foster carers, recruited from a local authority in England. They were predominantly female (86%), aged 42–65 years old and ranged from those who were relatively new to the profession (<12 months’ experience) to those with over 30 years of experience as a carer. We ran three qualitative focus groups to gather in-depth information about their views on supporting their foster children’s emotional well-being. Participants also completed short questionnaires about their training experiences and sense of competence.ResultsOnly half of the sample strongly endorsed feeling competent in managing the emotional needs of their foster children. While all had completed extensive training, especially on attachment, diagnosis-specific training for mental health problems (eg, trauma-related distress, depression) was less common. Thematic analysis showed consistent themes around the significant barriers carers faced navigating social care and mental health systems, and mixed views around the best way to support young people, particularly those with complex mental health needs and in relation to reminders of their early experiences.ConclusionsFindings have important implications for practice and policy around carer training and support, as well as for how services support the mental health needs of young people in care.

'Place2Be: advancing mental health care in schools' Catherine Roche

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Recorded Lecture

Catherine Roche, Chief Executive, Place2Be, recorded on 16 June 2017 at 'The Jack Tizard Memorial Lecture and Conference; Public mental health for children and young people: addressing mental health needs in schools and communities'. ACAMH members can now receive a CPD certificate for watching this recorded lecture.

Exploring the challenges of meeting child mental health needs through community engagement in Kenya

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah Mironga Getanda ◽  
Panos Vostanis ◽  
Michelle O'Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Mental Health Needs
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