Child mental health research: so what?
The Evidence Based Practice Unit (EBPU) and Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC) have joined forces to produce an innovative new seminar series, aiming to bridge the gap between evidence and practice in child mental health.
EBPU and CORC share a vision for all children and young people’s wellbeing support to be informed by real-world evidence so that every child thrives. However, translating the evidence into practice can be challenging for researchers and practitioners. This series will ask "so what does this mean for policy and practice?" in response to current research findings and project outcomes.
Prof. Miranda Wolpert, Director of both EBPU and CORC, said:
“There is a fabled 17 year gap between research findings and their impact on practice! This series seeks to shorten this gap by bringing together researchers and practitioners to explore implications of research findings hot off the press....”
The first seminar kicks off on 4th October with “So what?”: Attitudes towards measuring outcomes in child and adolescent mental health services, which will explore findings from a recent study into practitioners’ attitudes to the use of outcome measures with young people. While there has been a recent drive towards measuring children and young peoples’ mental health outcomes, the seminar will interactively discuss what this evidence tells us about practitioner views of using outcome measures, and whether we need more. Two of the authors, Evelyn and Vinita, will provide unique perspectives on the research from practitioner and researcher points of view by discussing their involvement in the study, the impact it has had on their work, and why they chose a qualitative methodology for this project.
Both EBPU and CORC work rigorously to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. EBPU, a collaboration between UCL and Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, conducts research, develops tools, provides trainings, evaluates interventions and disseminates evidence, while CORC is the UK’s leading membership organisation that collects and uses outcome evidence.