Transition Preparation Programme (TPP)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What preparation do young people need when they leave or change mental health services? Young people attending and leaving Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in three NHS Trusts co-produce a Transition Preparation Programme (TPP)
IRAS ID
169186
Contact name
Valerie Dunn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) discharge or transfer young people to an adult service at age 17, 18 at the latest. This is a major service change during a period when many teenagers are struggling with the rapid physical, social and emotional changes adolescence brings. Research shows that this service transition is difficult for many and one third may not transfer successfully to an adult service, with long-term effects on mental well-being.
Agreement is growing that the current system, based on age rather than clinical or personal need or readiness to move on, might not best serve the interests of young people with, or recovering from, mental illness. Studies show that transitions are often poorly handled and many young people feel unprepared. Our own small study showed that those who felt unprepared had poorer mental health and functioning compared to those who reported feeling prepared over a 12-month period.
Adults and young people may have different ideas about what preparation is needed. In this study we will work with the experts, the young people themselves, to gather their views of what's important and then co-produce a Transition Preparation Programme based on their ideas.
Through active, creative workshops CAMHS users and recent leavers in three NHS Trusts in the East of England, will explore their ideas about what preparation is needed, both practical needs, like leaflets and meetings, and some of the important personal skills a young person needs to help them cope positively with these changes. We will then put the ideas into a Transition Preparation Programme. We will also gather the views of parents and clinicians from CAMHS and adult services, to make sure we produce a programme that will be workable in the real world.
The project is funded by CLAHRC East for 12 months from April 2015.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0059
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion