Facilitators and Barriers to Person-centred Care in Child and Young People Mental Health Services: A Systematic Review.

Implementation of person-centred care has been widely advocated across various health settings and patient populations, including recent policy for child and family services. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that service users are rarely involved in decision-making, whilst their preferences and goals may be often unheard. The aim of the present research was to systematically review factors influencing person-centred care in mental health services for children, young people and families examining perspectives from professionals, service users and carers. This was conducted according to best practice guidelines, and seven academic databases were searched. Overall, 23 qualitative studies were included. Findings from the narrative synthesis of the facilitators and barriers are discussed in light of a recently published systematic review examining person-centred care in mental health services for adults. Facilitators and barriers were broadly similar across both settings. Training professionals in person-centred care, supporting them to use it flexibly to meet the unique needs of service users whilst also being responsive to times when it may be less appropriate and improving both the quantity and quality of information for service users and carers are key recommendations to facilitate person-centred care in mental health services with children, young people and families.