Evaluating changes in functioning and psychological distress in visitors of the @ease youth mental health walk-in centres.
BJPsych Open
; 10(3): e101, 2024 May 03.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38699887
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Highly accessible youth initiatives worldwide aim to prevent worsening of mental health problems, but research into outcomes over time is scarce.AIMS:
This study aimed to evaluate outcomes and support use in 12- to 15-year-old visitors of the @ease mental health walk-in centres, a Dutch initiative offering free counselling by trained and supervised peers.METHOD:
Data of 754 visitors, collected 2018-2022, included psychological distress (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 (CORE-10)), social and occupational functioning (Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS)), school absenteeism and support use, analysed with change indicators (first to last visit), and mixed models (first three visits).RESULTS:
Among return visitors, 50.5% were female, 79.4% were in tertiary education and 36.9% were born outside of The Netherlands (one-time visitors 64.7%, 72.9% and 41.3%, respectively). Moreover, 29.9% of return visitors presented with suicidal ideations, 97.1% had clinical psychological distress levels, and 64.1% of the latter had no support in the previous 3 months (one-time visitors 27.2%, 90.7% and 71.1%, respectively). From visit 1 to 3, psychological distress decreased (ß = -3.79, 95% CI -5.41 to -2.18; P < 0.001) and social and occupational functioning improved (ß = 3.93, 95% CI 0.51-7.36; P = 0.025). Over an average 3.9 visits, 39.6% improved reliably and 28.0% improved clinically significantly on the SOFAS, which was 28.4% and 8.8%, respectively, on the CORE-10, where 43.2% improved in clinical category. Counselling satisfaction was rated 4.5/5.CONCLUSIONS:
Reductions in psychological distress, improvements in functioning and high counselling satisfaction were found among @ease visitors, forming a basis for future research with a control group.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article