Introduction and aims
Young people in need of mental health care face long waiting lists due to health services being stretched to the limit. Alternative routes to early intervention support could help alleviate these burdens, hence why there is an urgent need to explore these provisions.
This project, funded by NCS Trust, aims to assess how one of such interventions – youth sector provision – impacts young people’s mental health (12 – 24 years old).
Research methods
To achieve the above aim, we will:
- Conduct a rapid review of the evidence on the impact of youth sector provision (including enrichment, non-formal learning and youth work) on young people’s mental health. The researchers will work with stakeholders and a youth advisory group to identify the core areas of focus in the review and any sub-questions/areas of interest.
- Scope and design a social prescribing pilot, informed by the findings of the review. Working with the Social Prescribing Youth Network and a co-design group of youth social prescribing experts, we will identify innovative high-quality youth social prescribing projects, unpick what they are doing well and identify the current barriers and opportunities for delivering youth social prescribing. These insights will then inform the thinking to create viable pilot options to test the role of youth provision and enrichment activities in supporting young people’s mental health. This part of the project aims to build up practical evidence on the role of the youth sector within social prescribing programmes and policy.
Outcomes
The project will culminate in a high-level logic model of the impact of youth provision on young people’s mental health, as well as pilot options to be tested and evaluated. These resources will be disseminated through reports, presentations, academic journal articles and youth-friendly resources, such as blogs. Research findings will also be distilled into a concrete set of recommendations for stakeholders.