Experiences of pathways to mental health services for young people and their carers: a qualitative meta-synthesis review

AbstractWorldwide, growing concern with young people ’s mental health is spurring service reform efforts. Such reform requires a full understanding of the experiences of young people and their carers when seeking mental health help. To generate such an understanding, we conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative literature on the perspectives of yout hs and their carers on navigating mental health systems. Five electronic databases were searched (Medline, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, HealthSTAR). Studies were included if they explored the experiences of pathways to mental health services of persons aged 11–30 years and/or their carers; were publ ished in English or French; and used qualitative methodology. Quality appraisal was conducted using the CASP tool. The synthesis of 31 included studies yielded three themes—initiating contact with mental health services; characteristics of services’ response; and youths’ and carers’ appraisa l of services. Themes about initiating contact included mental health literacy, structural barriers, and social support. Service response-related themes included complex pathways, waitlists, eligibility, and fragmented care. In terms of service appraisal, positive encounters featured providers who w ere accessible and perceived as caring. Negative appraisals resulted from feeling misunderstood and excluded and being ill-informed about treatment. Across diagnoses and settings, youths and carers had difficult experiences accessing mental he...
Source: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research