Wellbeing While Waiting V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Wellbeing While Waiting: Evaluating Social prescribing in CAMHS
IRAS ID
315240
Contact name
Daisy Fancourt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research summary: The Wellbeing While Waiting study seeks to evaluate a new social prescribing pathway that has already been co-developed and is currently being implemented by the Social Prescribing Youth Network (SPYN) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHSs) for children and young people (CYP) on waiting lists for treatment.
Social Prescribing is a mechanism of connecting patients to non-medical forms of support within the community such as arts and cultural programmes, social groups, nature interventions and volunteering schemes. Typically, a health or social care professional refers a patient to a Link Worker (LW) or social prescriber, who works with the patient to identify suitable community activities they could enjoy and benefit from. Social prescribing has been used since the 1980s in the UK and was formally launched as a national programme by NHS England in 2018. But its usage in CAMHS has only begun to grow in the last few years.
The SPYN social prescribing pathway is one example of social prescribing being implemented within CAMHS at the moment. It is currently being rolled out across selected CAMHS in England. But it is important to ascertain if it has benefits for patients and CAMHS. So, working with up to 10 sites across England who are providing the SPYN social prescribing pathway, the study will:
1. Examine whether the new social prescribing pathway:
i) Impacts on the mental health, wellbeing and social experiences of CYP
ii) Impacts on service-level outcomes2. Assess factors which influence the implementation of the pathway within CAMHS
Findings from Wellbeing While Waiting will be widely shared via various channels (e.g. journal articles, evidence briefings) to key policy, practice and research stakeholders. The findings could support the work of dozens of CAMHS nationally who are piloting similar schemes or looking to copy the SPYN programme.
Summary of results: Many children and young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have lengthy waiting times before receiving specialist treatment. During this time, they may receive little structured support. This study looked at whether social prescribing could provide useful support while young people were waiting for CAMHS treatment.
Social prescribing involves a trained Link Worker meeting with a young person to understand what matters to them and helping them connect with activities, services or support in their local community. This might include sport, arts activities, peer support or practical support. The aim is to support the young person's wellbeing and day-to-day life rather than to provide psychological therapy.
The study involved 558 young people aged 11 to 18 across 11 CAMHS services in England. Of these, 225 received the usual support available while waiting for treatment and 333 were offered social prescribing. Young people receiving social prescribing typically had around five sessions with a Link Worker. Participants completed questionnaires when they joined the study and again after three and six months. These questionnaires measured areas including anxiety, depression, stress, emotional and behavioural difficulties, wellbeing and resilience. Resilience refers to a person's ability to cope with difficulties and challenges.
Young people who received social prescribing showed small improvements in their overall emotional and behavioural difficulties compared with those receiving usual waiting-list care. In particular, improvements were seen in conduct difficulties, hyperactivity or attention difficulties, peer relationships and positive social behaviour. Young people receiving social prescribing also showed small improvements in resilience, including areas such as self-esteem, problem solving and participation in community life.
However, social prescribing was not associated with improvements in anxiety, depression or perceived stress compared with usual care. The findings therefore suggest that social prescribing may be more helpful for supporting young people's day-to-day functioning, relationships and ability to cope while they wait, rather than directly reducing symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Young people and staff generally viewed the approach positively, and staff rated it as acceptable, appropriate and feasible to deliver within CAMHS. No adverse events were judged to have been caused by social prescribing.
Overall, the findings suggest that social prescribing may provide useful additional support for some young people while they wait for specialist mental health treatment. However, it should not be considered a replacement for evidence-based psychological treatment, particularly for anxiety and depression.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
22/WS/0184
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion