RESUMEN
Background: Long term intervention services have proven to be effective in improving mental health (MH) outcomes and the quality of life for children and young people (CYP). Aim: To synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of long-term interventions in improving MH outcomes for CYP, 0-17 years, presenting with MH conditions. Methods: A systematic search was carried out and the methodological quality of included long term MH intervention studies were assessed. Six databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles between January 2000 and September 2022. Results: We found 30 studies that reported on the effectiveness of a range of long-term MH interventions in the form of (i) group therapy, (ii) multisystemic behavior therapy, (iii) general services, (iv) integrated services, (v) psychotherapy, (vi) intensive intervention services, (vii) comprehensive collaborative care, (viii) parent training, and (ix) home outreach service. Among the included studies, seven were rated as high level of evidence based on the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) levels of evidence hierarchy scale and seven were of moderate quality evidence. Others were rated as lower-quality evidence. Among the studies providing high quality evidence, most were reported for group therapy, general services, and psychotherapy studies demonstrating beneficial effects. Conclusion: This systematic review provides evidence to demonstrate the benefits of a range of long-term interventions, in a range of settings, can be effective in improving MH outcomes for CYP and their families. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022323324.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Brief intervention services provide rapid, mobile and flexible short-term delivery of interventions to resolve mental health crises. These interventions may provide an alternative pathway to the emergency department or in-patient psychiatric services for children and young people (CYP), presenting with an acute mental health condition. AIMS: To synthesise evidence on the effectiveness of brief interventions in improving mental health outcomes for CYP (0-17 years) presenting with an acute mental health condition. METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted, and the studies' methodological quality was assessed. Five databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles between January 2000 and September 2022. RESULTS: We synthesised 30 articles on the effectiveness of brief interventions in the form of (a) crisis intervention, (b) integrated services, (c) group therapies, (d) individualised therapy, (e) parent-child dyadic therapy, (f) general services, (g) pharmacotherapy, (h) assessment services, (i) safety and risk planning and (j) in-hospital treatment, to improve outcomes for CYP with an acute mental health condition. Among included studies, one study was rated as providing a high level of evidence based on the National Health and Medical Research Council levels of evidence hierarchy scale, which was a crisis intervention showing a reduction in length of stay and return emergency department visits. Other studies, of moderate-quality evidence, described multimodal brief interventions that suggested beneficial effects. CONCLUSIONS: This review provides evidence to substantiate the benefits of brief interventions, in different settings, to reduce the burden of in-patient hospital and readmission rates to the emergency department.