Parents’ Experiences of Joint Admission to a CAMHS Unit.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Parents’ Experiences During Joint Admission to a Children’s Mental Health Unit: A Thematic Analysis.
IRAS ID
320767
Contact name
Freya Lenton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 19 days
Research summary
Traditionally Tier 4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) inpatient units admit the lone child, often a considerable distance from their family home with parental support comprising of weekly outpatient appointments (CAHMS Tier 4 Report Steering Group, 2014). Only 6 inpatient units globally and 1 within United Kingdom (UK) have adopted a novel approach of joint child-parent admission, whereby the parent is admitted as well as their child to the inpatient ward. This allows for a systemic approach to care of children with severe psychiatric symptomatology. Initial quantitative findings measuring pre-post change undertaken in Australia, Germany, and Sweden, suggest positive change outcomes (Hansson et al., 1992; Volk, 2004, Ise et al., 2015).
The UK centre, The Croft, situated in Cambridge, is a twelve-bed unit with capacity of approximately twelve to sixteen families per year. The unit provides time limited assessment and treatment (approximately six to eight weeks) for children with complex emotional/behavioural difficulties. The study aims to give this underrepresented group (i.e. parents admitted alongside their child) a voice to share their journeys, as well as aiming to generate new transferable knowledge to specialist inpatient child mental health literature.
Please note that the study will have two parts, which will correspond to two doctoral research projects. Both projects will investigate parents’ experiences of the joint admission with their child, but Anja and Freya will look at distinct aspects of parents’ experiences. Freya’s project will look at parents’ experiences of the joint admission in relation to parenting confidence and the relationship with their child. Anja’s project will focus on parents' experiences of undergoing therapeutic work alongside their child during the admission and the influence on their wellbeing. Both project questions will be answered in the same interview with parents. Freya and Anja will analyse the two parts separately using thematic analysis.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
23/WA/0195
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion