Evaluation of a community-based intervention for youth mental health in rural Ireland.

Background: This study aimed to provide information about pathways to care and clinical response to community-based brief interventions for improving youth mental health through evaluating the Mindspace Mayo service.

Methods: Participants were 1,184 individuals aged 12-25 years (Mean = 17.92, SD = 2.66) who engaged with the Mindspace service. Demographic information included gender, age and living situation. The Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation (CORE) was used to measure psychological distress before and after attending the Mindspace service between February 2015 and 2022.

Results: On average, individuals received six sessions of therapeutic support. Analyses indicated that most referrals were made by either a parent (40%) or self-referral (38%). The most frequent reason for referral was mood and anxiety-related issues. Across the entire sample, reductions in CORE scores were both statistically and clinically significant. Neither the source of the referral nor living situation significantly predicted intervention response. Complexity of issues presented at referral significantly predicted a reduction in psychological distress post-intervention in young people aged over 17 years.

Conclusions: This study highlighted the value of primary care mental health services for young people aged 12-25 years, and underlined the importance of recording electronic data to track referral pathways, reasons for referral and the intervention outcomes over time.