Children’s participation in the development and evaluation of parent-led interventions for children’s mental health: a scoping review and consultation with children
12 affiliations
- 1Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- 2NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Northwest Coast, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK
- 3School of Health, Social Work and Sport, University of Lancashire, Preston, UK
- 4Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- 5Methodologies Research Division, Faculty of Nursing Midwifery & Palliative Care, King’s College, London, UK
- 6Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK
- 7Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- 8Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- 9Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK
- 10Health Innovation Kent, Surrey Sussex, Crawley, UK
- 11NIHR Applied Research Collaboration: East of England, Cambridge, UK
- 12NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK
Abstract
Parent-led interventions are used to address child mental health, but it is unclear whether, or how, children have been involved in their development and evaluation. This review describes methods used to involve children (5–12 years), summarising outcomes and reflections and provides recommendations for best practice and further research. Searches were conducted in five databases in October 2023 and March 2025. Searches of key organisation websites, Google searching, and requests for articles via social media were also conducted. Eligible studies involved children (5–12 years) in the development and/or evaluation of parent-led interventions aimed at preventing or treating child mental health problems delivered in any setting. Study findings were combined using narrative synthesis and shared with children in participatory focus groups (17 children aged 8–11 years, 70.6% male). Review and focus group findings were combined into practice recommendations. From 9,647 studies retrieved, 16 were included. Most were evaluation studies (n = 12) involving children via self-reported outcome measures. Four studies involved children in development, with methodologies including workshops, interviews and feasibility testing. Reporting of outcomes from the co-design process was limited but revealed the importance of creative, art-based parent-mediated activities and rewards for progress. Early involvement in intervention design, use of interactive child-specific co-design workshops, and involvement of children with lived experience are recommended. While involving children may require increased planning and time, benefits include increased acceptance, credibility, parental engagement and feasibility. Future research should include greater detail on codesign methods and effectiveness, to enable more extensive understanding of best practice.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0.
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BibTeX
@article{nowland2026childrens,
title = {{Children’s participation in the development and evaluation of parent-led interventions for children’s mental health: a scoping review and consultation with children}},
author = {Rebecca Nowland and Georgia Aspinall and Danielle L. Christian and Kathryn Berzins and Deborah J. Crook and Sundus Khalid and Shalini Ahuja and Lucy Gallagher and Brioney Gee and Ella Mickleburgh and Blossom Fernandes and Becca Randell and Afra Kelsall and Daniel Michelson},
journal = {European Child \& Adolescent Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Children’s participation in the development and evaluation of parent-led interventions for children’s mental health: a scoping review and consultation with children
AU - Rebecca Nowland
AU - Georgia Aspinall
AU - Danielle L. Christian
AU - Kathryn Berzins
AU - Deborah J. Crook
AU - Sundus Khalid
AU - Shalini Ahuja
AU - Lucy Gallagher
AU - Brioney Gee
AU - Ella Mickleburgh
AU - Blossom Fernandes
AU - Becca Randell
AU - Afra Kelsall
AU - Daniel Michelson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
JO - European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
DO - 10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0
AB - Parent-led interventions are used to address child mental health, but it is unclear whether, or how, children have been involved in their development and evaluation. This review describes methods used to involve children (5–12 years), summarising outcomes and reflections and provides recommendations for best practice and further research. Searches were conducted in five databases in October 2023 and March 2025. Searches of key organisation websites, Google searching, and requests for articles via social media were also conducted. Eligible studies involved children (5–12 years) in the development and/or evaluation of parent-led interventions aimed at preventing or treating child mental health problems delivered in any setting. Study findings were combined using narrative synthesis and shared with children in participatory focus groups (17 children aged 8–11 years, 70.6% male). Review and focus group findings were combined into practice recommendations. From 9,647 studies retrieved, 16 were included. Most were evaluation studies (n = 12) involving children via self-reported outcome measures. Four studies involved children in development, with methodologies including workshops, interviews and feasibility testing. Reporting of outcomes from the co-design process was limited but revealed the importance of creative, art-based parent-mediated activities and rewards for progress. Early involvement in intervention design, use of interactive child-specific co-design workshops, and involvement of children with lived experience are recommended. While involving children may require increased planning and time, benefits include increased acceptance, credibility, parental engagement and feasibility. Future research should include greater detail on codesign methods and effectiveness, to enable more extensive understanding of best practice. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03187-0.
SN - 1018-8827
SN - 1435-165X
ER -