Experiences of interventions aiming to improve the mental health and well-being of children and young people with a long-term physical condition: A systematic review and meta-ethnography.

This is a synthesis of qualitative experiences, not an effectiveness review. Symptoms of mental ill health were not routinely measured in the included interventions. Only 13 articles scored positively on at least 12 quality appraisal questions. The theoretical or ideological perspective of the author was not reported in 45 articles, so its influence could not be determined. Children and young people with learning or intellectual disabilities were excluded. The review included many different interventions and conditions, so the constructs may not apply to every intervention or every child with a long-term physical condition. There was no data about participants' experiences of mental health difficulties, so it is unclear how findings apply to different mental health needs. Only four included studies had a qualitative evaluation as part of a randomized controlled trial. Because many different intervention components were included together, the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.

The funder is named as the National Institute for Health Research.

Do not read these constructs as proof that any intervention improves mental health. This review synthesised experiences of many different interventions, and symptoms of mental ill health were not routinely measured. Only four included studies had a qualitative evaluation as part of a randomized controlled trial.