Evidence and practice

Developing a web-based app for non-mental health nurses to assess the mental health needs and risks of children and young people

Michael A Doyle Professor of mental health research, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, England

Manisha Singh Researcher, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, England

Phil McNulty Senior nurse, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Wakefield, England

Siobhan Slavin Nurse consultant, HSC Public Health Agency, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Mike Smith Director of nursing, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Bangor, Wales

Helen Walker Senior nurse, NHS Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland

Wajid Khan Research and development manager, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Wakefield, England

Barry Percy-Smith Professor of childhood, youth and participatory practice, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, England

Why you should read this article:

• To acknowledge the high demand on specialist mental health services for children and young people
• To recognise that non-mental health nurses are well placed to provide mental health assessment of children and young people
• To read about a web-based app designed to support non-mental health nurses when assessing the mental health needs and risks for children and young people

There is high demand for specialist mental health services for children and young people in the UK. Non-mental health nurses are well-placed to assess the mental health needs and risks of children and young people to maximise opportunities for early intervention and relieve the pressure on child and adolescent mental health services. This article provides an overview of a service development project to develop a web-based application (app) to support non-mental health nurses when assessing the mental health needs and risks of children and young people. The article describes the development, testing and evaluation process, which involved consultation with children and young people as well as interviews, focus groups and an online survey with a range of professionals working with children and young people. Overall, the findings suggest that the app is appropriate for use by non-mental health nurses in terms of quality, functionality and acceptability.

Nursing Children and Young People. 36, 5, 36-42. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1503

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

m.doyle2@hud.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Doyle MA, Singh M, McNulty P et al (2024) Developing a web-based app for non-mental health nurses to assess the mental health needs and risks of children and young people. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1503

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the rest of the steering group members involved in the development of the app for their guidance throughout this project, everyone who took part in informing and co-designing the app and the RCN Foundation for funding the project

Published online: 19 February 2024

Keywords :

child and adolescent mental health - child health - information technology - innovation - management professional - professional issues - service development - technology

Want to read more?

Already have access? Log in

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months

RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:

Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics

Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more

05 September 2024 / Vol 36 issue 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DIGITAL EDITION