Mapping Selective Prevention and Promotion Interventions for the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children and Young People from Vulnerable Groups: A Rapid Overview

As a leading Children’s charity in the United Kingdom, Barnardo’s has identified mental health and wellbeing as a key priority area1for their Core Priority Programme (2018-2021). The organisation has identified an intention to focus on a social model of mental health, and to consider prevention and early intervention. In order to support this work Barnardo’s commissioned research to provide a “mapping of the types of work/policy that is currently considered good practice” and “to include and identify aspects which would be considered extremely transformational”. The intention was to inform stakeholder discussions facilitated by Barnardo’s in two Local Authority areas in Scotland and England. As an initial first step, mapping of evidence was required in order that stakeholders could identify gaps in existing practice as well as priorities for future development. Therefore Barnardo’s commissioned 2 overviews -one on universal prevention and one on selective prevention in order to inform this work. This report outlines the second overview: a rapid overview of reviews to provide a mapping of selective prevention and promotion interventions for child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing in relation to specific vulnerable groups. This report provides a summary of this work, undertaken by the Centre for Health Policy, University of Strathclyde. This report draws on the first overview (Macintyre & Karadzhov 2019a) and should be read in conjunction with the first report.