Can We Build 'Somewhere That You Want to Go'? Conducting Collaborative Mental Health Service Design with New Zealand's Young People.

Jessica Stubbing,Kerry Gibson

doi:10.3390/ijerph18199983

Abstract

Globally, young people are at high risk of mental health problems, but have poor engagement with services. Several international models have emerged seeking to address this gap by providing youth-specific care designed in collaboration with young people. In this study, 94 young people in New Zealand participated in collaborative workshops exploring their vision of an ideal mental health service. Participants were aged 16–25. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify seven themes. These describe the ideal mental health service for these young people as comfortable, accessible, welcoming, embedded in the community, holistic, adaptable, and youth-focused. In addition to describing how services might better serve the needs of youth, this article outlines a method for adapting international principles for youth-friendly care to the specific needs of a population of young people. This article provides supporting evidence that services should consider how to improve their engagement with youth through collaboration with local populations of young people.

Highlights

It has been well established that around three quarters of lifetime mental ill health will have onset by age 24 [1]
Seven themes were identified through the thematic analysis that reflect the kind of mental health service young people want
This is a place that is comfortable, accessible, welcoming, embedded in the community, holistic, adaptable, and youth focussed. It is the combination of these themes that most accurately reflects the wishes of the young people who participated in our workshops, none of these themes in isolation would be sufficient for designing a youth friendly mental health service

Summary

Introduction

It has been well established that around three quarters of lifetime mental ill health will have onset by age 24 [1]. Despite having the highest incidence and prevalence of mental ill health, 12–25-year-olds have the poorest service access, highlighting the immense gap between need for and engagement with mental health services among young people [5]. This has been called a crisis in care as the majority of young people with mental health difficulties do not have their needs met [6]. The World Health Organisation have defined youth-friendly services as services that are accessible, acceptable, and appropriate to young people [32]. It has been proposed that services should be sustainable, through being adapted to and embedded in the community, and effectively managed [35,36]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion