Waiting for mental health services – Parents' perspective (Version 1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of waiting for mental health services, from the perspective of parents/caregivers whose children self-harm.
IRAS ID
343395
Contact name
Barbara Mezes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 29 days
Research summary
The impact of children and young people’s self-harm on their families is significant. Although the United Kingdom (UK) Government acknowledges the need to support carers, YoungMinds (2022) reported that over half of parents (69%) described that neither they nor their children had been signposted to any form of support during the time they were waiting for support. Therefore, this study aims to explore the experiences of waiting for NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) North West England from the perspective of parents/caregivers whose children self-harm. This will involve looking at their experiences of being on a waiting list, what support was made available to them, what support they used, and what support would have been helpful.
A total of 12-15 parents/caregivers, whose children were referred to services in the past three years and have waited for at least six weeks for input, will be recruited. The main reason for their referrals would be linked to self-harm. Participants will be recruited through 4 North West England CAMHS services and advertisements. Participants will be given the choice of a face-to-face or a remote interview lasting approximately 60 minutes, following a semi-structured interview schedule. The interviews will then be analysed using thematic analysis. This means that the researcher will examine the transcripts of the interviews to identify common themes, topics and ideas that repeatedly come up. The research study findings will then be shared with parents/caregivers, local services, and voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations to improve services.
This study is being completed as part of a thesis and is funded by the University of Liverpool, Doctorate of Clinical Psychology Programme.
Reference List
Young Minds. (2022). Mental Health Waiting Times Harming Young.
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/mental-health-waiting-times-harming-young-people/REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
24/SS/0072
Date of REC Opinion
10 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion