DISCOVER Workshop Programme for Care Experienced Young People

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Emotional Stress; Mental Health Issue; Emotional Regulation
• Interventions: Other: DISCOVER workshop programme

• Registration Number: NCT05220436
• Lead Sponsor: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Brief Summary

The NHS DISCOVER team has secured 2-year funding from the Maudsley Charity to tailor the workshop programme the investigators deliver in school Sixth Forms to meet the specific needs of Care Experienced young people. The investigators are planning to complete a pilot of this adapted workshop programme within Medway Children's Social Services to explore its feasibility, accessibility, acceptability and early-stage efficacy within this population of adolescents.

Investigators from the DISCOVER team will recruit young people aged 16-19yrs who are currently known to the Medway Care Leavers 16+ teams. The study will be conducted at Medway Local Authority sites, with the option of some stages being completed remotely via Microsoft Teams if needed in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-10-13
• Status Verified: 2022-02
• Study Start: 2022-02
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-02-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-02-01
• Study First Posted: 2022-02-02
• Last Update Posted: 2022-02-02
• Primary Completion: 2022-09
• Study Completion: 2022-09

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

Participants who are eligible to take part in this DISCOVER research project will be:

• Young people aged 16-19 years who have experience of being in Care and are currently under one of the Medway Children's Social Care, Care Leavers 16+ teams. This means that they are either currently a Looked After young person or a Care Leaver (i.e. they are no longer Looked After but they remain under the care of a Medway Care Leavers team).
• Able to work within a group setting over the course of a day workshop.
• Able to communicate and read in English.

Exclusion Criteria

The investigators will not be able to recruit young people to the project if they are:

• Acutely psychotic or actively suicidal.
• Currently taking part in other research project(s).
• Under the influence of alcohol or any other substances during DISCOVER programme meetings - this is essential as a safety consideration for all participants and staff. Struggles with alcohol/substance use in themselves are not necessarily grounds for exclusion; the investigators will discuss with the allocated member of the young person's Care Leavers 16+ team on a case-by-case basis where relevant.
• Unable to communicate and read in English - as the investigators are at an early stage in developing this DISCOVER workshop programme for Care Experienced young people, these young people must be excluded at this time. However, the investigators are eager to review this criterion in future to enhance the accessibility of the intervention, once the initial feasibility and acceptability of the workshop programme has been established.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
DISCOVER workshop programme	DISCOVER workshop programme	As this is a case series study, all participants will receive the intervention (i.e. no other arms to the study design). The DISCOVER workshop programme includes: 1:1 mental health and emotional well-being assessment session with a Clinical Psychologist, a group workshop day, follow-up supportive phone calls and a closing follow-up 1:1 mental health and emotional well-being session with a Clinical Psychologist.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Participant Uptake (Feasibility & Acceptability)	From outset of recruitment, through to final study completion: 7 months	Number of young people who come forward for and ultimately take part in the new DISCOVER workshop programme
Participant Retention (Feasibility & Acceptability)	From outset of recruitment, through to final study completion: 7 months	Number of young people who remain in the study throughout all stages of the programme
Participant Feedback About Experience of the Programme (Acceptability)	At the end of the workshop day and during closing follow-up one-to-one meeting with DISCOVER team: 2 months later	Anonymous workshop feedback survey Semi-structured interview to gather participants' qualitative feedback about the programme

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Child & Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (Greco et al., 2011)	CHANGE MEASURE: Pre-workshop and follow-up one-to-one meetings (Baseline - 2 months after workshop day)	Capacity for mindfulness (self-report) - Scores range from 0-40 - higher score indicates higher level of mindfulness (after reverse scoring)
Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (Angold et al., 1995)	CHANGE MEASURE: Pre-workshop and follow-up one-to-one meetings (Baseline - 2 months after workshop day)	Depression/low mood symptoms (self-report) - Scores range from 0-66 - higher score indicates higher level of depression symptoms
Warwick & Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (Tennant et al., 2007)	CHANGE MEASURE: Pre-workshop and follow-up one-to-one meetings (Baseline - 2 months after workshop day)	Emotional well-being and resilience (self-report) - Scores range from 14-70 - higher score indicates greater positive mental wellbeing
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (Birmaher et al, 1999)	CHANGE MEASURE: Pre- and post-workshop 1:1 meetings (Baseline - 2 months after workshop day)	Anxiety symptoms (self-report) - Scores range from 0-82 - higher score indicates higher level of anxiety

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

16+ Care Leavers Service, Medway Children's Services; 🇬🇧 Chatham, United Kingdom

South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; 🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom