Effectiveness of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Interventions in the UK - Case Study Example

Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Effectiveness of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Interventions In The UK Review Abstract The subject of child and adolescent mental health has been a priority for major governments in terms of policymaking and regulation. The need to promote the psychological well-being of children and adolescence appears relevant in improving their social, physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, and educational development (CPPRG 339). Due to this fact, many political and social programs focus on this area to enhance to eradicate the rising numbers of mental disorders acquired at these ages. Various interventions have emerged with a similar goal of fighting this problem and establishing a sustainable system to handle the issue in future. With numerous programs, it becomes difficult to determine the effective interventions and the ineffective ones. This research aimed at examining the impact of various social and health interventions to deal with the mental health menace among children and adolescents. The focus is on the number of health disorder cases before the intervention and after the introduction of the program (Fergusson & Horwood 292). The severity of the situation also offered an effective angle in conducting the research since fewer numbers of severe cases of mental disorders indicate success and vice versa. The study involved a comprehensive research on the positive and negative implications of the interventions to determine the need for continuation of the programs or their elimination. Background Mental disorders affects the emotional, social, cognitive, physical and educational development of citizens hence posing a major threat to the social, political, and economic status of a nation. In 2014, a BBC report revealed that the UK has approximately 850,000 children diagnosed with a mental health conditions (Feehan & McGee 1121). Many schools have admitted to the rise in mental health issues among their pupils in the recent years. An article published by the Times in 2014 also reported the escalating situation of mental disorders among the children and adolescents. However, the effects of mental disorders among the young generation continue manifesting. This research conducted a detailed analysis of the interventions to determine their effectiveness and significance. The severe effects of mental disorders make it a major subject of interest for the government and its citizens. The results of this research are beneficial in identifying the appropriate mental health interventions to implement to prevent the emergence of new mental cases and manage the current ones. It would also highlight the weak areas in the mental health interventions that require adjustments to improve quality service provision. Objectives The aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness of the mental health interventions in terms of: 1). the fluctuations in number of mental health patients following the implementation of the intervention, 2). the health benefits of the interventions, 3). the quality of the mental health services provided 4). the improvement of the patients’ conditions after their involvement in the program, and 5). the community’s attitudes towards the interventions (Fonagy, Cottrell & Kurtz 141) Search Strategy Relevant material appeared through searching the Cochrane Clinical Trials Register, CINAHL, PSYCINFO, EMBASE, and relevant psychiatric and mental health databases (Dodge & CPPRG 1257). Enquiry with experts and people directly affected by the research issue provided first hand information. Selection Criteria The relevant information from the databases included findings from authorized previous research on the issue. The experts consulted are the health practitioners involved directly in various interventions for prevention and treatment of health disorders. The teachers and relatives of children and adolescents with mental health problems offered an insightful outlook of the situation. Data Collection Criteria Primary data collection involved the issue of questionnaires to the relatives and teachers of the patients. The researcher also scheduled face-to-face interviews with the health practitioners. The questions featured in the questionnaires and the interviews were open ended to encourage honest opinions from the respondents. The research utilized random sampling to select the respondents to reduce bias while collecting data from various regions (Fonagy, Cottrell & Kurtz 83). Secondary data collection on the other hand involved the review of previous researches done on the issue as well as the analysis of health reports published regarding mental health. Quantitative data analysis method was engaged in conducting the financial implications of the interventions to the community as well as the government. The interview questions covered quantitative enquiries on the cost of running various interventions and the benefits obtained. They offered information on the number of children and adolescents took part in the treatment programs and the reported cases of improvement. They also provided information on the number of patients at the beginning and at the conclusion of the interventions. Qualitative data analysis complemented the quantitative analysis through analysis of unquantifiable variables. The questionnaires included questions that would assist the researcher in undertaking qualitative deductions through collection of opinions towards the interventions and testimonials regarding the derived benefits of the interventions. Main Results The results reveal the effectiveness of the interventions in improving the health of the children and adolescents diagnosed with mental disorders. The number of mental disorder cases has reduced with their establishment and the patients can now manage their conditions with the help of health practitioners (Ferro et al 667). The results also reveal the vigilant involvement of the community and schools in the prevention and management of mental conditions among children and adolescents. However, the findings reveal a low motivation level of the health service providers and the lack of full acceptance of the community in handling the young mental patients. The research revealed the lack of sufficient information and studies on the cost-effectiveness of the child and adolescent mental health interventions. There is a large void in economic evidence on various mental health interventions to guide policymaking (Reynolds et al 384). The research therefore recommends further research on the cost-effectiveness of interventions conducted on certain mental health conditions to enable the government reduce spending on redundant interventions while investing in the cost-effective measures. This would also help the government in showing the value for money invested in the health sector while challenging the efficiency of health provision. Research proposal Economic Implications of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Interventions in the UK Introduction Mental health conditions remain an area of interest in the 21st century due to its rising prevalence and adverse effects. One in every five children suffers from a mental condition proving the severity of this global issue. The urgency of the situation has caught the attention of donors and government agencies who have invested heavily in this overlooked area. However, there emerges the question of the effectiveness of these interventions in the actual management of the child and adolescent mental health in the UK (Fonagy, Cottrell & Kurtz 211). WHO identifies a gap in the administration of treatment in the mental health care sector asserting that most psychiatric disorders remain untreated despite the availability of health care services. WHO made this conclusion during its research on the gap between prevalence of psychiatric disorders and their treatment. The presence of a gap between the prevalence and treatment of mental health conditions raises concerns as to the cost-effectiveness of investing in child and adolescent mental health. This research aims at conducting a cost-benefit analysis on these interventions to determine the cost of investing versus not investing. This involves the assessment of the costs incurred in establishing the health interventions and their subsequent benefits in terms of outcomes. Background Mental health conditions affect the health of the economy due to their effects on the social, emotional, and physical health of individuals. The affected individuals become unproductive and incur heavy costs in the management of their condition hence the heavy financial burden on the economy in sustaining the dependent population. Prevention strategy is better than the cure strategy hence early detection and treatment of the conditions is easier and cheaper to manage. This emphasizes the need for child and adolescent mental health interventions to promote the health of the patients and prevent the emergence of new incidences of the disorders. Previous research conducted on this area indicate that children and adolescents suffering from mental health disorders incur twice as much health costs as their peers diagnosed with other conditions (Patel et al 1310). The family bears heavy financial burden in the treatment and management of mental health disorders of their young relatives. Mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders cost the government over $200 billion per annum in terms of health service provision and economic implications of crime and lost productivity. Approximately 70% of the youth in the juvenile system have a history of mental disorder that lacked proper managed. They cost the society approximately $2 million in incarceration, costs to victims, and rehabilitation costs (Ferro et al 667). The mental health care sector incurs heavy costs in provision of subsidized treatment to patients. Most costs incurred in management of the condition however fall on non-health agencies that deal with community issues such as education, justice, and social care that are overlooked when calculating the overall costs incurred in the sector. The adults diagnosed with mental conditions when children or adolescents have deteriorated economic status in the future. This indicates the presence of economic issues surrounding mental health disorder for the individuals that requires attention. Most research focuses on the behavioral implications of the interventions while ignoring the economic aspect. The public sector incurs heavy financial burden in the support of children and adolescents with mental health conditions particularly the education system hence the need to ascertain the value for money invested in the sector (Johnson & Knitzer 123). Research Questions Previous research indicates a gap in the availability of information on the cost-effectiveness of child and adolescent health interventions to inform policymaking as well as practice (Foster, Jones & CPPRG 1286). There are few economic reviews on the subject in the past decade and there emerges a need for an assessment on the economic implication of the health interventions on the child and adolescent mental health, which creates room for further research on the issue hence the need for this proposed research. This is to determine the financial resources used in implementing these interventions and the economic related outcomes of the interventions. This highlights the economic benefits of various interventions to the individuals as well as the entire society. The aim of this research is therefore to determine the cost effectiveness of the mental health interventions through answering the questions: 1). What are the costs incurred in the implementation of the interventions? 2). What are the implications of a cost-benefit analysis on the interventions? 3). What is the quality of the health service provision? 4). Which are the economic benefits of the outcomes realized by the interventions? Research Methodology This research will rely on primary data collected through questionnaires issued to health project managers. The questionnaires will feature both open-ended and closed questions to ensure honest and guided information. The researcher will also conduct secondary data collection through analysis of financial data of various health programs to obtain information on the costs incurred in running the programs. Quantitative data analysis will assist in the cost-benefit analysis to assess the costs of the interventions alongside their benefits (Foster, Jones & CPPRG 1288). Qualitative analysis will assist in the assessment of qualitative data on the unquantifiable costs and benefits of the interventions. Systematic random sampling will help reduce biasness while selecting respondents from all the parts of the population. This will enable sufficient representation of the sample on the entire population. Ethical Issues Transparency and accountability is a major issue in the public sector and community projects. The program coordinators may avoid the provision of financial information for the fear of incriminating themselves or raising controversies on the value for money invested. This may hinder the researcher from acquiring all the relevant information required in conducting the research conclusively. Misappropriation of resources is a common factor in community projects due to the low emphasis on maintenance of accounting records. Social benefits are difficult to quantify hence the possibility of discrepancies on the value attached to certain variables (Reynolds et al 384). Access to information on government projects may prove challenging due to the bureaucratic procedure of obtaining authorization from the senior officials. Conclusion Effective interventions of the mental health of children and adolescents is an area of interest for every nation including the UK. Presence of scarce resources necessitates the proper utilization of available resources to yield maximum results. Mental health conditions affect the general health of the citizens as well as the economy due to their adverse effects on the productivity of the citizens (Patel et al 1310). Investigating the effectiveness of these interventions must feature an economic review of their consequences to assess the pros and cons of their implementation. The cot-benefit analysis highlights the resource analysis and the products of the intervention execution. The assessment of the mental health intervention on children and adolescents is therefore an important area of research in the agenda of any government to provide a healthy foundation for the establishment of sound policies. Works Cited Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. ‘The Effects of the Fast Track Preventive Intervention on the Development of Conduct Disorder Across Childhood’. Child Development. 82.1 (2011): 331-345. Web. 20 May 2015. Dodge Kennedy, and Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. ‘Fast Track Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Externalizing Psychiatric Disorders: Findings From Grades 3 to 9’. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 46.10 (2007): 1250-1262. Web. 20 May 2015. Feehan, Mark, and McGee, Williams. ‘Mental health disorders from age 15 to age 18 years’. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32 (2003): 1118-1126. Web. 20 May 2015. 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