Josephine Holland, Morenike Da-Silva-Ellimah, James Roe, Richard Morriss, Kapil Sayal
{"title":"Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent psychiatric wards: multi-methods investigation.","authors":"Josephine Holland, Morenike Da-Silva-Ellimah, James Roe, Richard Morriss, Kapil Sayal","doi":"10.1192/bjo.2024.783","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Child and adolescent mental health service in-patient beds are unevenly spread throughout England. Where demand outstrips bed availability, young people may be admitted at-distance or to adult psychiatric wards. The COVID-19 pandemic added pressures to already overstretched services. Understanding experiences during this period is vital to inform strategies for future emergencies.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions to local, at-distance or adult psychiatric units, from the perspectives of young people, parents/carers and healthcare professionals.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Multi-methods data were collected from February 2021 to September 2022, as part of the Far Away from Home research programme. A 13-month national surveillance study collected information about admissions to general adolescent units >50 miles from home, out-of-region or to adult psychiatric units. Free-text data from respondents (<i>n</i> = 51) were analysed using content analysis. Interviews with young people (<i>n</i> = 30), parents/carers (<i>n</i> = 21) and healthcare professionals (<i>n</i> = 68) were analysed using thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic affected young people's contact with others; the requirement to self-isolate on admission and following overnight leave felt distressing, and visiting was limited. This disincentivised overnight leave, leading to some discharges being delayed and others feeling rushed and high risk. The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated the introduction of virtual meetings, enabling community teams and families to be more involved in therapies, meetings and decision-making.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic were often negatively perceived. However, the increased use of technology was felt to be positive, widening inclusion and mitigating some negative effects of distance on admissions.</p>","PeriodicalId":9038,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych Open","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BJPsych Open","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2024.783","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Child and adolescent mental health service in-patient beds are unevenly spread throughout England. Where demand outstrips bed availability, young people may be admitted at-distance or to adult psychiatric wards. The COVID-19 pandemic added pressures to already overstretched services. Understanding experiences during this period is vital to inform strategies for future emergencies.
Aims: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions to local, at-distance or adult psychiatric units, from the perspectives of young people, parents/carers and healthcare professionals.
Method: Multi-methods data were collected from February 2021 to September 2022, as part of the Far Away from Home research programme. A 13-month national surveillance study collected information about admissions to general adolescent units >50 miles from home, out-of-region or to adult psychiatric units. Free-text data from respondents (n = 51) were analysed using content analysis. Interviews with young people (n = 30), parents/carers (n = 21) and healthcare professionals (n = 68) were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic affected young people's contact with others; the requirement to self-isolate on admission and following overnight leave felt distressing, and visiting was limited. This disincentivised overnight leave, leading to some discharges being delayed and others feeling rushed and high risk. The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated the introduction of virtual meetings, enabling community teams and families to be more involved in therapies, meetings and decision-making.
Conclusions: Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic were often negatively perceived. However, the increased use of technology was felt to be positive, widening inclusion and mitigating some negative effects of distance on admissions.
期刊介绍:
Announcing the launch of BJPsych Open, an exciting new open access online journal for the publication of all methodologically sound research in all fields of psychiatry and disciplines related to mental health. BJPsych Open will maintain the highest scientific, peer review, and ethical standards of the BJPsych, ensure rapid publication for authors whilst sharing research with no cost to the reader in the spirit of maximising dissemination and public engagement. Cascade submission from BJPsych to BJPsych Open is a new option for authors whose first priority is rapid online publication with the prestigious BJPsych brand. Authors will also retain copyright to their works under a creative commons license.