Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Oct 8, 2020
Date Accepted: May 5, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Developing a parent/carer-targeted digital intervention to support shared decision making in child and adolescent mental health services: Process outline and stakeholder involvement
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital interventions have been increasingly used to support care and treatment for child and adolescent mental health (CAMH). For example, Power Up, a mobile phone app to support young people in shared decision making (SDM) was found to be feasible, and promoted SDM after the intervention period. However, parents and carers are generally recognised by the literature and the law as key to CAMH decisions.
Objective:
This study describes the development of an evidence-based, theoretically informed decision support intervention for parents and carers accessing CAMH services.
Methods:
The intervention was developed in line with the UK Medical Research Council framework for developing complex interventions. The process incorporated the steps for developing patient decision aids: 1) assess need, 2) assess feasibility, 3) define objectives, 4) identify the framework of decision support and 5) select the methods, designs and plan dissemination. We synthesised theory, research, international guidelines and input from relevant stakeholders in an iterative design approach.
Results:
The development steps resulted in Power Up for Parents, a decision support intervention with 5 keys features (i.e. Decisions, Goals, Journey, Support and Resources). The intervention aims to encourage discussion, allow parents to ask questions during sessions or seek further information between sessions, and allow service providers to tailor the SDM process to accommodate the needs of the parent and child.
Conclusions:
We confirm that it is possible to use input from end-users, integrated with theory and evidence to create digital interventions to be used in CAMH settings. Implications for policy and implementation science, and preliminary findings of feasibility and acceptability are presented.
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