Children and Young People’s Mental Health

Workstream leads

Main locations of work

The main contributing universities and NHS organisations to the workstream are:

Workstream overview

This workstream responds to the challenges in children’s and young people’s (CYP) mental health and was originated by Professor Jonathan Green and developed with colleagues across the UK.

This workstream looks at:

• Building the necessary infrastructure for running multisite clinical research projects
• Establishing common clinical measures
• Biomarkers and risk markers for mental health conditions
• Digital technology research

Why the work is important and workstream aims

There is international recognition of a growing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) crisis and the majority of clinical practice in everyday child mental health care can be ad hoc and variable. The workstream is facilitating the introduction and adoption of innovation into practice and encouraging private sector involvement to help seek novel solutions and drive forward innovation. In doing this, the workstream is working to improve children’s and young people’s mental health services for the future.

Work packages

This workstream comprises 4 work packages:

Work package 1: Research data

• This work package looks at the best ways to link information about CYP’s health for clinical and research benefit. Researchers are also looking at the standardisation of diagnostic tools and measures for child mental health conditions, working closely with the MHM’s Data and Digital Theme to achieve the proposed outcomes
• The leads of this work package are Tamsin Ford and Anna Moore at the University of Cambridge.

Work package 2: Biomarkers and Risk Markers

• This work package looks at biomarkers of vulnerability and resilience to mental health conditions, seeking to understand how biology is linked to mental health to improve future mental health and wellbeing

• The leads of this work package are Rebecca Elliott and Shruti Garg at the University of Manchester.

Work package 3: Putting our Research into Practice

• This work package builds on what is achieved in work package 1 and 2, extending work into digital interventions to progress and streamline the digitisation of the existing treatments
• Building on risk markers work, by looking at brain stimulation intervention

• The leads of this work package are Shruti Garg at the University of Manchester and Charlotte Hall at the University of Nottingham.

Work package 4: Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Participation (PPIEP)

• The views and experiences of children, young people and parents/carers will be at the centre of the programme to ensure that the work meets their needs
• A key focus will be engaging children and families to streamline processes and overcome barriers in the research environment

• The leads of this work package are Sharon Graham and Helen Minnis at the University of Glasgow.

Working with demonstrator sites

Each of the demonstrator sites also have CYP’s mental health themes. These will overlap with and will complement the national CYP theme. We will work closely with the demonstrator sites Midlands Translational Centre (MTC) and the Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC).

Increasing research capacity

We will work closely with the MHM’s Capacity Development Theme to increase research capacity within CYP mental health services. This will include:

• Training clinical trial leaders
• Post-Doctoral researchers (PDRAs) in digital CAMHS and neurodevelopment
• Local embedded NHS research champions

More details about ongoing workstream initiatives can be requested from Sarah Ashton, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Workstream Project Manager.