1. CAMHS Social Prescribing Evaluation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Social Prescribing Model for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
IRAS ID
345402
Contact name
Rio Foster
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool John Moores University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
345402, IRAS ; 7434 , Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust - Service Evaluation Approval
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the UK are under pressure to meet demands in access for service provision. The NHS outlined in the Long-Term Plan (2019) goals to implement Social Prescribing (SP) as an approach to address the wider determinants of health and improve public health and wellbeing; however, little is known about SP pathways within CAMHS (Chatterjee et al., 2018; Morse et al., 2022; Wakefield et al., 2022). SP is defined as a person-centered approach whereby a practitioner connects people with unmet non-medical, health-related social needs to community services, aiming to improve health, wellbeing, and community connections (Muhl et al., 2023).
In collaboration with Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust the aim of the Social Prescribing for Adolescent and Children’s Engagement in WELLbeing therapies (SPACE-WELL) research project is to assess the feasibility of a recently developed CAMHS SP pathway at two CAMHS sites in North-West England (Alder Hey, Sefton). Using a mixed-methods design, routinely collected outcome data within CAMHS is currently being collated as part of an audit (approval 7434) at entry (Time-0), the beginning of SP (Time-1), midway (Time-2), and the end (Time-3) of SP. The proposed research will build on this, with follow-up measures administered to CYP 3 months after SP (Time-4). The same routine outcome measures will be used.
Perceptions and experiences of the SP pathway will also be explored qualitatively through 1-1 interviews (at Time-3) with CYP, parents/caregivers, CAMHS practitioners, professionals and stakeholders (e.g., service managers) responsible for developing and delivering NHS SP initiatives. Data will assess the perceived impact and engagement experiences of SP on CYP, their families, and CAMHS, as well as barriers and facilitators to systemic delivery and sustainability. Funding for the research was obtained from the Institute for Health Research (IHR) at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
25/ES/0087
Date of REC Opinion
29 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion