Improving Attendance at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for Families from Socially Disadvantaged Communities: Evaluation of a Pre-Intake Engagement Intervention in the UK

Original Article
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Abstract

Non-attendance of families is a common problem in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). We report on the development and pilot evaluation of a pre-intake intervention designed to enhance initial engagement at inner-city CAMHS in London, UK. Families receiving the intervention (N = 107) were significantly less likely to miss first appointments compared with contemporaneous (N = 62) or historical (N = 163) control groups. The intervention had similar effects for white and minority ethnic families, and for those from the most and least deprived parts of the locality. Recommendations are made for routine provision of empirically-supported engagement strategies, informed by consultations with service users and providers.

Keywords

Child and adolescent mental health Engagement Service utilization Intervention Service evaluation 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a program grant awarded to Crispin Day from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity. We gratefully acknowledge the participation of clinical staff at the Early Intervention Service, Lambeth CAMHS, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. We are also grateful to Sumera Bhatti, Craig Colling, George Goldie, and Lucy Nathanson for their assistance with data collection and database management.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of PsychologyInstitute of Psychiatry, King’s College LondonLondonUK

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