Delivering and implementing child and adolescent mental health training for mental health and allied professionals: a systematic review and qualitative meta-aggregation

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of mental health difficulties among children and young people (CYP) suggests that early intervention is vital. A comprehensive system of care and support requires the involvement of mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychiatrists, and allied professionals, including teachers, police, and youth workers. A critical starting point is the provision of effective training, in order that these professionals can better support the mental health needs of the CYP that they encounter. OBJECTIVES: Given the primacy of training in the CYP mental health support system, understanding the factors that maximise potential gains and facilitate uptake is pertinent. The current review therefore located and explored qualitative research evidence, to identify the barriers and facilitators underpinning successful delivery and implementation of training focussed on the mental health of CYP, for both mental health and allied professionals. METHODS: A systematic review and qualitative meta-aggregation were conducted. Systematic searches were carried out using ASSIA, EMBASE, MEDLINE, NICE Evidence, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases, for papers published between 2000 and 2020. Twelve thousand four hundred forty-eight records were identified, of which 39 were eligible for review. The records were appraised for quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research, and synthesised using the qualitative meta-aggregation method. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-two raw findings were extracted from the 39 papers, which were condensed into 47 sub-categories, 19 categories, and finally 5 synthesis statements. These synthesis statements reflected the barriers and facilitators influencing the training delivery process (“support”; “content, design, and planning”), and the implementation of training into the workplace (“context”; “perceived value”; “organisational factors”). CONCLUSIONS: The synthesis statements and underlying categories provide practical recommendations for those designing, delivering, or implementing CYP mental health training. Recommendations ranged from facilitating peer support during training, to the idea that training will be better implemented when perceived need is high. The review provides a robust evidence-based foundation to “common-sense” principles, drawing them into a coherent and organised framework using a synthesis method grounded in pragmatism. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO reference ID: CRD42020162876. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-021-02530-0.