Experiences of help-seeking from professional services for a child or young person’s mental health concerns during the pandemic: A qualitative study
dc.contributor.author | Mathews, F | |
dc.contributor.author | Benham-Clarke, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Ford, TJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Hill, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Sadler, K | |
dc.contributor.author | Newlove-Delgado, T | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-04-17T14:28:08Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024-04-16 | |
dc.date.updated | 2024-04-17T14:08:59Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Introduction The immediate response to the Covid-19 pandemic saw school closures and a shift in provision to online health services for children and young people experiencing mental health concerns. This study provides mental health and referral services with an insight into difficulties experienced as well as recommendations on potential improvements. Methods Semi-structured interviews with 11 parents and six young people. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Parents and young people reported mixed experiences on accessing mental health support. Priorities and pressures on health services impacted the likelihood of choosing to seek and being able to obtain help. Parents and young people had varying expectations and experiences in help-seeking during the pandemic which were also impacted by others’ experiences and views. For many, the relationship with the professional they were in contact with impacted their mental health treatment. Provision was sometimes accessed via private services due to long waiting lists or problems that did not “meet threshold”. Conclusion Understanding the experiences of seeking mental healthcare during the pandemic can inform improvements to access to services at a time when people are most vulnerable. Accessible provision other than private services needs to be made for those on waiting lists. For those who do not meet service threshold, intermediary support needs to be secured to prevent unnecessary exacerbation of symptoms and prolonged problems. If schools are to remain the hub for children and young people’s mental health services, they should be considered essential services at all times. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | UK Research and Innovation | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute for Health Research | en_GB |
dc.format.extent | e0297417-e0297417 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 19, No. 4, article e0297417 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297417 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | MR/V027751/1 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | NIHR 300056 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/135774 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-1314-4607 (Mathews, Frances) | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-6053-9804 (Benham-Clarke, Simon) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) | en_GB |
dc.relation.source | Data Availability: There are ethical and legal restrictions on the public sharing of minimal data for this study due to patient privacy concerns. MHCYP 2020 survey data is available upon request from NHS England's Data Access Request Service (DARS) via email (data.applications@nhsdigital.nhs.uk) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data. | en_GB |
dc.rights | : © 2024 Mathews et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | en_GB |
dc.title | Experiences of help-seeking from professional services for a child or young person’s mental health concerns during the pandemic: A qualitative study | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2024-04-17T14:28:08Z | |
dc.contributor.editor | Kpobi, L | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1932-6203 | |
dc.identifier.journal | PLOS ONE | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | PLOS ONE, 19(4) | |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2024-01-04 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2024-04-16 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2024-04-17T14:25:02Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2024-04-17T14:29:27Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2024-04-16 |
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