MHeNs School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Early Interv Psychiatry. 2023 Sep;17(9):929-938. doi: 10.1111/eip.13443. Epub 2023 Jun 7.
Innovative youth mental health services around the globe vigorously work on increasing highly needed mental health care accessibility but their service users and care effectiveness have rarely been studied. The Dutch youth walk-in centres of @ease opened in 2018, with currently 11 locations at which free anonymous peer-to-peer counselling is offered to young people aged 12-25. The aim of this protocol is to outline the to-be-conducted research at @ease.
Three studies are outlined: (1) an outcome evaluation of @ease visits using hierarchical mixed model analyses and change calculations, (2) a cost-of-illness study using calculations for costs of truancy and care usage among these help-seeking young people, with regression analyses for risk group identification, and (3) a follow-up evaluation at three, six and 12 months to assess long-term effects after ending @ease visits. Data provided by young people include demographics, parental mental illness, truancy, past treatment, psychological distress (CORE-10) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L). Social and occupational functioning (SOFAS), suicidal ideation and need for referral are rated by the counsellors. Questionnaires are filled out at the end of every visit and at follow-up via e-mail or text, provided permission is given.
Research regarding the visitors and effectiveness of the @ease services is fully original. It offers unique insights into the mental wellbeing and cost-of-illness of young people who may otherwise remain unseen while suffering from a high disease burden. The upcoming studies shed light on this unseen group, inform policy and practice and direct future research.
全球创新性青年心理健康服务机构积极努力增加急需的精神卫生保健可及性，但他们的服务使用者和护理效果很少得到研究。荷兰青年即走即诊中心@ease 于 2018 年成立，目前在 11 个地点为 12-25 岁的年轻人提供免费匿名的同龄peer-to-peer 咨询。本方案旨在概述@ease 将进行的研究。
概述了三项研究：（1）使用层次混合模型分析和变化计算对@ease 就诊的结果进行评估；（2）使用计算辍学者成本和这些寻求帮助的年轻人的护理使用成本的疾病成本研究，对风险群体进行回归分析；（3）在 3、6 和 12 个月进行随访评估，以评估结束@ease 就诊后的长期效果。年轻人提供的数据包括人口统计学信息、父母的精神疾病、逃学、既往治疗、心理困扰（CORE-10）和健康相关生活质量（EQ-5D-5L）。社会和职业功能（SOFAS）、自杀意念和转诊需求由咨询师进行评估。每次就诊结束和随访时，通过电子邮件或短信填写问卷，只要获得许可即可。
关于@ease 服务的访客和效果的研究是完全原创的。它为那些可能因疾病负担高而未被发现但正在受苦的年轻人的心理健康和疾病成本提供了独特的见解。即将进行的研究将揭示这一未被发现的群体，为政策和实践提供信息，并指导未来的研究。
