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This protocol summarises plans for a mixed methods study investigating the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) journey for young people with a social worker across two NHS Trusts.
Many children and young people with social work involvement experience mental health difficulties. Yet we don’t know enough about the mental health care they receive from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We do not know which young people get accepted or rejected for treatment, what treatments lead to positive change for these young people, or how much these treatments cost.
The COACHES (Child and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Referrals and Outcomes for Adolescents and Children with Social Workers) study aims to fill these knowledge gaps. The study, which is a four-year collaboration between the Primary Care Unit at the University of Cambridge, Kingston University, King’s College London, the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Care Leavers Association will combine quantitative and qualitative analysis. Linked administrative health and education records will be used for quantitative analysis, whilst qualitative analysis will be co-produced using case notes and semi-structured interviews with children and young people.
The study is jointly funded by both What Works for Early Intervention and Children’s Social Care (WWEICSC) and The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The research questions for the quantitative studies are:
The research questions for the qualitative studies are:
The study will look at examples of children and young people with social work involvement in two areas of the UK – South London, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
