This study aims to co-produce a digital self-led application of the Brief Psychosocial Invention (BPI) with young people, parents, and health professionals. We want to find out if digital BPI offers rapid relief for young people with mood-related mental health concerns waiting on the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) waiting list.
Background
The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) provides treatment to young people with poor mental health. Referrals increased by 47% in 2021-22, and waiting times can go up to 20 weeks for an initial assessment before another 20-week wait. This study aims to offer an intervention for young people waiting on the waiting list so that support is provided sooner, meaning there could be a reduction in distress and hopefully mean they require less treatment.
The app will be based on the Brief Psychosocial Intervention (BPI), a treatment for young people with depression. It is the first intervention developed specifically for young people, with input from young people. It is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and shown to work well and is cost-effective.
Project Aims
This study aims to coproduce an online (digital) version of the Brief Psychosocial Intervention with young people and parents. Young people with depression and low mood will have access to the web app while they are on the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS) waiting list. The app will have self-led modules which encourage good habit formation, education about the mind and putting strategies into practice. Once we have developed the app, we want to find out if it can offer rapid relief while young people are waiting to access services.
Project Activity
We have set up young people and parents/carers advisory groups. These groups are helping to work with the researchers to co-develop study materials, review results, and help to communicate findings effectively.
This project is split into four sections (Work Packages). Work Packages 1-3 work alongside each other.
Work Package 1:
- Interviews and focus groups with young people, parents/carers and CYPMHS clinicians to understand their experiences and to capture their views on how the app could be used. Participants will be recruited from two NHS Trusts.
Work Package 2:
- Co-design sessions with the advisory groups and software engineers, to develop the app.
Work Package 3:
- An initial evaluation of the prototype with ten young people from 2 NHS clinics to test if the application works, is easy to use, and is safe and acceptable.
Work Package 4:
- A pilot study will take place to test the app. We will compare a group of young people waiting as usual on the waiting list vs a group waiting on the waiting list with access to the app. This will test the ease of participant recruitment, if the participants complete the digital BPI and if it is cost-effective.
Anticipated or actual outputs
- A digital application that young people can use individually as support to treatment while on a waiting list.
- A template of how digital BPI can be used safely within CYMPHS.
- Understand the experiences of young people and their families who have been on a waiting list. These findings will be presented in academic papers and conferences alongside digital support resources like blogs and podcasts.
Papers and resources
- Goodyer, I. and Kelvin, R. (2023). Brief Psychosocial Intervention for Adolescents: Keep it Simple; Do it Well. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Goodyer, M. I., Reynolds, S. and Barrett, B., et al. (2017). Cognitive-behavioural therapy and short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy versus brief psychosocial intervention in adolescents with unipolar major depression (IMPACT): A multicentre, pragmatic, observer-blind, randomised controlled trial. Health Technol Assess (Rockv): 21(12):1–93.
Who is involved?
- Chief Investigator: Prof Tamsin Ford, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.
- Senior Research Associate Investigator: Dr Anne-Marie Burn, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.
- Research Associate: Rasanat Fatima Nawaz, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.
- Placement Student Researcher: Lauren Hitchcock, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.
Contact
- Dr Anne-Marie Burn - amb278@medschl.cam.ac.uk
- Rasanat Fatima Nawaz - rfn22@cam.ac.uk
