Our twenty-first century quest: Locating effective mental health interventions for children and young people in care, and those adopted from care

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith A. Murray

AbstractThe need to provide support for the mental health needs of children and young people is not in dispute. However, there does exist confusion as to the most appropriate means and methods of providing such support. This confusion is particularly evident among those who work closely in providing daily for the mental health needs of children and young people, yet who lack specific mental health training. The confusion is heightened by the fact that those who have developed expertise in mental health cannot offer a consensual approach. This article discusses this confusion and its implications for other sectors by considering some of the theoretical and practical debates in the psychological literature concerning the most effective approaches to mental health interventions. Some commonsense recommendations from this literature for those working with children are offered.


Author(s):  
Anja Čuš ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Susanne Ohmann ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.


Author(s):  
Ragaviveka Gopalan ◽  
C Sangeetha ◽  
P Ramakrishnan ◽  
Vijaya Raghavan

BACKGROUND About 70% of mental disorders emerge in late childhood and young peo-ple bear the burden of these disorders throughout life. Yet, to date there has been com-paratively little research on mental health interventions for young people in India and not many attempts have been made to collate the existing literature. This systematic review aims to synthesize the available evidence on school- and community-based mental health interventions for young people in India. METHODS A range of major electronic databases were searched systematically, and the abstracts of relevant papers were independently examined for possible inclusion. Selected papers were read in full text and a standardized set of data items were extracted. RESULTS Four papers met inclusion criteria for the analysis; two studies of school-based interventions for adolescents and two studies evaluating out-of-school community interventions for youth were reviewed. The quality of evidence from the interventions in Indian school and community settings were poor. While two studies evidence the effectiveness of a school-based life skills programme and a community based multicomponent intervention designed to promote youth health, two other studies do not offer sufficient data. CONCLUSION The review findings indicate that the number of interventional studies conducted in India to address youth mental health issues are very limited. Hence, it is extremely difficult to ensure the feasibility and effectiveness of school and community-based interventions in India. Further research is warranted to establish whether interventions promoting youth mental health people can be implemented effectively in Indian settings with positive mental health outcomes. Given the possibility of a huge population of young people at-risk or experiencing mental disorders, evidence for the efficacy of youth mental health interventions is crucial.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aislinn D. Bergin ◽  
Elvira Perez Vallejos ◽  
E. Bethan Davies ◽  
David Daley ◽  
Tamsin Ford ◽  
...  

Abstract Digital health interventions (DHIs) have frequently been highlighted as one way to respond to increasing levels of mental health problems in children and young people. Whilst many are developed to address existing mental health problems, there is also potential for DHIs to address prevention and early intervention. However, there are currently limitations in the design and reporting of the development, evaluation and implementation of preventive DHIs that can limit their adoption into real-world practice. This scoping review aimed to examine existing evidence-based DHI interventions and review how well the research literature described factors that researchers need to include in their study designs and reports to support real-world implementation. A search was conducted for relevant publications published from 2013 onwards. Twenty-one different interventions were identified from 30 publications, which took a universal (n = 12), selective (n = 3) and indicative (n = 15) approach to preventing poor mental health. Most interventions targeted adolescents, with only two studies including children aged ≤10 years. There was limited reporting of user co-design involvement in intervention development. Barriers and facilitators to implementation varied across the delivery settings, and only a minority reported financial costs involved in delivering the intervention. This review found that while there are continued attempts to design and evaluate DHIs for children and young people, there are several points of concern. More research is needed with younger children and those from poorer and underserved backgrounds. Co-design processes with children and young people should be recognised and reported as a necessary component within DHI research as they are an important factor in the design and development of interventions, and underpin successful adoption and implementation. Reporting the type and level of human support provided as part of the intervention is also important in enabling the sustained use and implementation of DHIs.


10.2196/25847 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e25847
Author(s):  
Susanna Lehtimaki ◽  
Jana Martic ◽  
Brian Wahl ◽  
Katherine T Foster ◽  
Nina Schwalbe

Background An estimated 1 in 5 adolescents experience a mental health disorder each year; yet because of barriers to accessing and seeking care, most remain undiagnosed and untreated. Furthermore, the early emergence of psychopathology contributes to a lifelong course of challenges across a broad set of functional domains, so addressing this early in the life course is essential. With increasing digital connectivity, including in low- and middle-income countries, digital health technologies are considered promising for addressing mental health among adolescents and young people. In recent years, a growing number of digital health interventions, including more than 2 million web-based mental health apps, have been developed to address a range of mental health issues. Objective This review aims to synthesize the current evidence on digital health interventions targeting adolescents and young people with mental health conditions, aged between 10-24 years, with a focus on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and generalizability to low-resource settings (eg, low- and middle-income countries). Methods We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases between January 2010 and June 2020 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on digital mental health interventions targeting adolescents and young people aged between 10-24 years. Two authors independently screened the studies, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the reviews. Results In this systematic overview, we included 18 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We found evidence on the effectiveness of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety and depression, whereas the effectiveness of other digital mental health interventions remains inconclusive. Interventions with an in-person element with a professional, peer, or parent were associated with greater effectiveness, adherence, and lower dropout than fully automatized or self-administered interventions. Despite the proposed utility of digital interventions for increasing accessibility of treatment across settings, no study has reported sample-specific metrics of social context (eg, socioeconomic background) or focused on low-resource settings. Conclusions Although digital interventions for mental health can be effective for both supplementing and supplanting traditional mental health treatment, only a small proportion of existing digital platforms are evidence based. Furthermore, their cost-effectiveness and effectiveness, including in low- and middle-income countries, have been understudied. Widespread adoption and scale-up of digital mental health interventions, especially in settings with limited resources for health, will require more rigorous and consistent demonstrations of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness vis-à-vis the type of service provided, target population, and the current standard of care.


2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Walker ◽  
Sharon Medlow ◽  
Amanda Georges ◽  
Katharine Steinbeck ◽  
Rebecca Ivers ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Liam Spencer ◽  
Ruth McGovern ◽  
Eileen Kaner

Abstract Background Preventative interventions may be effective in reducing and preventing symptoms of mental ill health in children and young people. However, there is a paucity of research in this area that explores the views of young people. This paper reports on a qualitative study to inform the future development of attractive and appropriate early and preventative school-based mental health interventions. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 young people aged 14–17 in North East England. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, anonymised and analysed following a thematic approach. Results Four key themes were identified, relevant to those providing, designing and commissioning early and preventative mental health interventions in schools: ‘mental health literacy’, ‘risk factors for wellbeing decline’, ‘experience of school-based support’ and ‘recommendations for future support’. Conclusions Young people have varying levels of mental health literacy, but are able to identify academic stress, bullying and the transition from primary to secondary school as leading causes of worry. Young people want more regular and in-depth mental health education, tailored levels of support in school and improved training for teachers.


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