Parents' Experiences of Accessing Mental Health Services for Their Adolescents With Mental Health Challenges: A Scoping Review.
Seána Nic Dhonnacha, Lisa Kerr, Yvonne McCague and 1 others
PMID 39405082WHAT IT FOUND
Parents describe fragmented mental health services, waits up to 18 months, and feeling unheard.
Many bring adolescents to emergency departments for care; clear communication, family involvement, and privacy were valued.
Key findings
01Parents and adolescents describe fragmented community mental health services, waits up to 18 months, and a perception that crisis is needed before support is offered.
02Emergency departments are used as an access route when community services are delayed or unavailable; in one Irish hospital, adolescent ED mental health presentations rose from 60 in 2006 to 600 by 2022.
03Parents report frustration when they are not informed or included in care, and more positive experiences when clinicians communicate clearly, consider their views, and involve the adolescent.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review did not appraise the quality of the 23 included studies, so some findings may rest on weak or inconsistent evidence. It searched only English-language studies, although adolescent mental health access is an international problem. The included studies used different designs and populations, so they cannot tell you how common any one experience is. Research specifically about parents' experiences of emergency department pathways was limited. Hospital inpatient mental health settings were excluded, so it does not describe experiences of inpatient care.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest and report nothing to disclose. The supplied publication types list non-U.S. government research support, but no specific funder is named.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a specific service model works or that emergency department use can be prevented. It maps parents' and adolescents' experiences across 23 studies with different designs and populations, and it did not appraise study quality.