ReviewSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2021
Experiences of pathways to mental health services for young people and their carers: a qualitative meta-synthesis review.
Review in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 39 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Informal Coercion Experienced by Adolescents in Mental Health Care-A Systematic Review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Early interventions for first onset of symptoms of mental health conditions: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Young People Transitioning From Child and Adolescent to Adult Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Systematic Review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Psychosocial interventions for carers of people with severe mental and substance use disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023Pooled it
- "Accessible and Acceptable" Drop-In Mental Health Services for Children With Long-Term Conditions: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Analysis of Integrated Services From a Health Equity Perspective.Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Improving Digital Measurement-Based Care Within Emerging Adult Mental Health Care Pathways: Protocol for a Co-Design Phase Embedded in a Multimethod Rapid Learning Health System Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Emerging Adults' Experiences of Digital Measurement-Based Care in Routine Mental Health Care: Qualitative Study and Conceptual Synthesis.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- From Silos to Synergy: Insights From Health Professionals on Integrating Youth Mental Health Care.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Co-Designing a Text Messaging Intervention for Youth Transitioning From Child to Adult Mental Health Services: Participatory Design Jam Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Experiences of youth and caregivers waiting for mental health services in the UK: a qualitative study to inform policy and practice.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sustained engagement with a digital youth mental health platform: A mixed-methods study.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Helpful coping strategies and help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems: a vignette study in young people and professionals.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Adaptation of a brief intervention to support engagement in early psychosis services: a service user-informed psychotherapy modification and study protocol.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Seen but not heard: A qualitative interview study exploring the views and experiences of children and young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for support with suicidality.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Next stop - mental health: a qualitative study of healthcare journeys from the perspective of young adults in Sweden.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Referral pathways to early intervention services for psychosis and their influence on perceptions of care: An interpretive phenomenological analysis.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Preferences and perceived barriers for internet-based treatment among adolescents with anxiety or depressive disorders: A qualitative study.Internet interventions · 2024Article
- A Personalized, Transdiagnostic Smartphone App (Mello) Targeting Repetitive Negative Thinking for Depression and Anxiety: Qualitative Analysis of Young People's Experience.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Trust of patients and families in mental healthcare providers and institutions: a cross-cultural study in Chennai, India, and Montreal, Canada.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- The Urgent Need for an Evidence-Based Digital Mental Health Practice Model of Care for Youth.JMIR mental health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Worldwide, growing concern with young people's mental health is spurring service reform efforts. Such reform requires a full understanding of the experiences of young people and their carers when seeking mental health help. To generate such an understanding, we conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative literature on the perspectives of youths and their carers on navigating mental health systems. Five electronic databases were searched (Medline, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, HealthSTAR). Studies were included if they explored the experiences of pathways to mental health services of persons aged 11-30 years and/or their carers; were published in English or French; and used qualitative methodology. Quality appraisal was conducted using the CASP tool. The synthesis of 31 included studies yielded three themes-initiating contact with mental health services; characteristics of services' response; and youths' and carers' appraisal of services. Themes about initiating contact included mental health literacy, structural barriers, and social support. Service response-related themes included complex pathways, waitlists, eligibility, and fragmented care. In terms of service appraisal, positive encounters featured providers who were accessible and perceived as caring. Negative appraisals resulted from feeling misunderstood and excluded and being ill-informed about treatment. Across diagnoses and settings, youths and carers had difficult experiences accessing mental healthcare. While individual, social, and healthcare factors shaping pathways to care varied, systemic complexities were a common inhibitor. This synthesis informs recommendations for improving mental health services and youths' pathways to them. It underlines the need for grounding reform in youths' and carers' perspectives and needs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.