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Inner-city child mental health service use: the real question Is why youth and families do not use services
- Authors:
- HARRISON Myla E., MCKAY Mary M., BANNAN William M.
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 40(2), April 2004, pp.119-131.
- Publisher:
- Springer
This study examines pathways to urban child mental health care as well as explores reasons why care was not received. A single group longitudinal design was used to study initial attendance rates at an outpatient child mental health clinic and identify factors associated with initial service use for urban children and their families. Approximately one-third of families (n = 82) do not follow up with care despite their child being referred and an initial appointment scheduled. Yet, three-quarters of those who did not attend a first session still wanted services when interviewed. Factors most significantly related to service use were social support and parental skill efficacy. There is a significant unmet need for care along with identification of significant barriers to access. Empirical findings can serve as the basis for modifying urban child mental health service delivery systems.
A collaboratively designed child mental health service model: multiple family groups for urban children with conduct difficulties
- Authors:
- MCKAY Mary M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 21(6), November 2011, pp.664-674.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The number of children in need of mental health services in urban communities far outstrips the availability of services and the number of service providers. The Multiple Family Group (MFG) service model has been specifically designed to target insufficient capacity and high inefficiency in the current system. This article presents preliminary outcomes of a longitudinal study of the MFG service delivery strategy tested in collaboration with 13 urban outpatient clinics set within primarily African American and Latino communities. The MFG is a flexible, protocol-driven approach designed to address childhood behavioural difficulties, and to enhance family-level engagement and retention in ongoing care. The study aimed to examine the impact of the MFG service delivery approach on 2 outcomes: child oppositional behaviour; and parenting stress over time. The participants were divided into the MFG intervention group and a comparison group of standard conditions. Assessments were made at baseline, 8 weeks (midway through the MFG), 16 weeks (postintervention), and at 6 and 18 month follow-up. This paper analyses the findings from the first 321 participating youth and their families. These show that the participants in the MFG group improved in terms of child oppositional behaviour and parenting stress over time at a significantly faster rate than those in the comparison group.
It takes a village to deliver and test child and family-focused services
- Authors:
- MCKAY Mary M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 20(5), September 2010, pp.476-482.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The purpose of this article is to highlight the benefits of collaboration in child focused mental health services research. Three unique research projects are described: MFG (multiple family groups for youth with disruptive behavioral difficulties); HOPE (homeless outreach for parents and early adolescents, a family-based HIV prevention and mental health promotion programme); and Step-Up (a multi-level, school-based mental health service for youth evidencing academic failure and mental health difficulties). These three projects address the mental health needs of vulnerable, urban, minority children and their families. In each one, service delivery was codesigned, interventions were co-delivered and a team of stakeholders collaboratively tested the impact of each one. The results illustrate that collaborative work between consumers, providers, and researchers is feasible and effective in the design, delivery, and evaluation of child and adolescent mental health and preventive services. Preliminary results for each project indicate significant reductions in youth mental health symptoms. The article concludes that these interventions are feasible alternatives to traditional individualised outpatient treatment.
Adapting a family-based HIV prevention program for HIV-infected preadolescents and their families: youth, families and health care providers coming together to address complex needs
- Authors:
- MCKAY Mary M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Mental Health, 5(3/4), 2007, pp.355-378.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The family-based HIV and mental health promotion intervention described in this paper forms part of the CHAMP (Collaborative HIV-prevention Adolescent Mental Health) project in a low income area of Chicago. CHAMP+ is specifically designed for perinatally infected children and their families, and focuses on: the impact of HIV on the family; the loss and stigma associated with HIV disease; HIV knowledge and understanding of health and medication protocols; family communication about puberty, sexuality and HIV; social support and decision making related to disclosure; and parental supervision and monitoring relating to sexual possibility situations, sexual risk taking behaviour and the management of the child’s health and medication. Findings from a small scale pilot with five children and five caregivers indicate potential effectiveness but identify stigma, secrecy and disclosure as issues of even greater importance than anticipated.