Parental perspectives on the impact of COVID-19.

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A qualitative study exploring parents' perception of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's journeys from engaging with community mental health support to requiring a specialist inpatient admission.

• IRAS ID

  310375

• Contact name

  Mick Finlay

• Contact email

  mick.finlay@aru.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Anglia Ruskin University

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Summary of Research
  The COVID19 pandemic has caused huge disruption in the day to day life of people across the globe, with research indicating that children have been particularly affected, with elevated levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression being seen amongst this population, as well as a change in family functioning (Hangai et al 2021; Swansburg et al 2021). Previously conducted research has focused on children in the general population or in schools (Shah et al 2020). Currently, no research has been undertaken looking at the impact of the pandemic on children who were already accessing community mental health support, and those who now require a Tier 4 specialist psychiatric inpatient admission. In order to explore this, parents and carers of children at the Croft Child and Family Unit, on the Ida Darwin Site at Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation Trust, will be invited to participate in one, one hour, semi-structured interview either on the unit or over video call. These interviews will ask broad questions related to parental mental health, the child's mental health and family dynamics in response to the COVID19 pandemic. The interviews will then be transcribed and the pseudoanonymised data will be analysed using thematic analysis. The results will then be written up into a postgraduate (MSc) thesis, as well as being disseminated in a peer reviewed scientific journal. A summary of the findings will be shared

  Summary of Results
  wThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to healthcare systems worldwide, including the availability of care and treatment for children and families who require additional mental health support.

  This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on families who were accessing community mental health support but required additional support through an inpatient psychiatric unit. Through interviews with parents and carers of children admitted to a specialist psychiatric inpatient unit during the pandemic, the study identified four key themes related to the pandemic's effects on both child and parent mental health, healthcare accessibility, family functioning, and coping strategies.

  The study found that families faced challenges in accessing necessary support as a result of the pandemic, as well as additional adverse effects on both child and parental mental health and family functioning. This inability to access appropriate and timely community support as a result of the pandemic is thought to have had a detrimental impact on children's wellbeing which in turn increased the likelihood of requiring a psychiatric inpatient admission at a specialist Tier 4 unit.

  Overall, the study highlights the need for additional resources and support for families with children with additional mental health needs. The study showed a relationship between family functioning and parental/child wellbeing, indicating a need for more specialist family units across the country.
  ith the parents and carers who took part.

• REC name

  Wales REC 7

• REC reference

  22/WA/0024

• Date of REC Opinion

  31 Jan 2022

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion