Ranked number 1 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) SPOR (Supporting Patient Oriented Research – Collaboration Grants) review panel, Bloomberg Nursing Assistant Professor Dr. Kristin Cleverley will engage youth and caregivers as experts in a Delphi study to come to consensus on process and outcomes indicators that can be used to improve the quality of transitions between child and adult mental health services. Dr. Cleverley is a Clinician-Scientist in the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health and Professional Practice at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the CAMH Chair in Mental Health Nursing Research at the University of Toronto.
Although the transition between health services is widely recognized as a problematic health systems hurdle, the factors necessary for successful transition from child to adult mental health services are poorly understood. Understanding the process and outcome indicators of child to adult mental health care transitions can be used to guide the development and evaluation of interventions to improve these difficult transitions.
This patient-oriented research project is a response to the call for system improvement. Given their experiences in navigating the mental health care system, youth and their caregivers are in the best position to identify key processes that facilitate continuity in care between child and adult mental health services. Study findings will be implemented into child mental health services to facilitate the transition from CAMHS-AMHS, improve patients’ experience of the mental health care system, and inform future intervention development and implementation research.
Prioritizing Youth and Caregivers as Experts of Mental Health Care Transitions: A National Delphi Study is in partnership with The Centre for Addition and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, East Metro Youth Services, the National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) and the Sashbear Foundation.