Young People Transitioning From Child and Adolescent to Adult Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Systematic Review.
Robyn Rosina, Rose McMaster, Victoria Lovecchio and 1 others
PMID 39334339WHAT IT FOUND
Young people described transition to adult mental health services as confusing and unsupported when it happened at age 18.
They wanted involvement, preparation, individual plans and trust; families wanted inclusion; clinicians reported fragmented services.
Key findings
01Young people wanted early shared decision-making, individualised plans and readiness-based timing, and reported feeling uninformed and disconnected.
02Parents and carers wanted involvement and support, but described feeling uninformed, rejected and uncertain about new adult services.
03Clinicians described fragmented continuity of care and asked for joint working, cross-over periods and better communication between child and adult services.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only nine qualitative studies were included, and the authors note few studies focus on this transition, so themes may not capture all services or populations. Excluded papers related to chronic physical illness, non-primary research, articles not retrievable in English, and specific neurodiverse conditions, so findings may not apply to those groups. Mixed-method studies contributed only their qualitative component. The review synthesises experiences and service problems, so it cannot show whether any transition intervention improves outcomes. Included studies used interviews, focus groups and participatory designs in limited settings, so findings depend on self-report and local service context.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that a transition programme works. The review synthesises experiences from nine qualitative studies; it does not test whether changing transition timing or joint working improves outcomes.