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Evaluating the effectiveness of the Family Connections program for caregivers of youth with mental health challenges, part II: A qualitative analysis
- Source :
- Health Expectations, Vol 24, Iss 2, Pp 709-718 (2021), Health Expectations : An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Background The Family Connections™ (FC) program is a 12‐week support and skill‐training program for caregivers of youth with mental health challenges. The intervention was originally developed with a focus on borderline personality disorder (BPD). It is important to understand the experiences of caregivers in such interventions, as well as its applicability beyond BPD, for the purposes of evaluation and ongoing program improvement. Objective To explore and analyse the experiences of caregivers of youth with diverse mental health challenges and who participated in FC. Design Semi‐structured interviews with thirteen FC‐participating caregivers of youth with mental health challenges. Results Thematic analysis uncovered three major themes regarding caregivers' experience with FC: (a) FC increased the caregivers' ability to manage their youth's mental health challenges; (b) participating in FC impacted their intra‐ and interpersonal spheres; and (c) improvements to the program were proposed. Following participation in FC, caregivers felt they learned a new approach to understanding themselves, their youth and mental health, and were better able to manage their youth's mental health challenges. Discussion and conclusion FC is a promising intervention for caregivers of youth with mental health challenges, beyond the traditional BPD focus. The intervention has the potential to provide broad‐based benefits for caregivers and should be considered for implementation and scale‐up across youth‐ and caregiver‐serving organizations. Potential areas of intervention flexibility and improvement are discussed. Patient/public contribution Caregivers were involved in the program development and facilitation of FC. A person with lived experience was involved with the analysis.
- Subjects :
- End of DORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
caregivers
Medicine (General)
4. Education
Emotions
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
family relations
030227 psychiatry
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
R5-920
adolescent
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Original Research Papers
mental health
qualitative research
peer group
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13696513 and 13697625
- Volume :
- 24
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Health Expectations
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....1239e3c55c34b71a69851bd1071a1bb4