Enabling informed treatment choices: development of an evidence portal for children and young people's mental health in Norway

Session: 

Oral session: Knowledge translation and communicating evidence (2)

Date: 

Sunday 16 September 2018 - 15:00 to 15:10

Location: 

Pentland Auditorium

All authors in correct order:

Austvoll-Dahlgren A1, Bjørndal A1, Hammerstrøm KT1, Kjøbli J1
1 Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway, Norway
Presenting author and contact person

Presenting author:

Astrid Austvoll-Dahlgren

Contact person:

Astrid Austvoll-Dahlgren
Abstract text
Background: Many who work to improve children and young people's mental health, as well as patients and their next of kin, struggle in their attempt to find and apply trustworthy evidence. Internationally, several evidence portals exist enabling access to summarised research. However, none of these target children and young people specifically.

Objectives: To describe the editorial principles and methods used to develop an evidence portal for children and young people's mental health in Norway

Methods: We use transparent and explicit methods in our search and inclusion of research. The portal's content is largely based on IN SUM, an extensive database of systematic reviews, supplemented by evidence-based guidelines. Only reviews published in the last five years that are of satisfactory quality (DARE-criteria) are included. All reviews are quality-assessed with AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews), and certainty of the evidence is evaluated using GRADE. Evidence summaries are created using plain language, and effect estimates communicated both as textual and numerical information. All content is open access.

Results: The first version of the evidence portal includes 12 chapters addressing common mental health disorders. Each chapter includes:
1) a one-page patient information brochure;
2) a description of the condition;
3) an introduction to diagnostics and screening; and
4) an evidence overview of treatment choices.
The portal also includes a number of generic chapters, addressing treatments not restricted to a specific condition, such as transdiagnostic interventions. Other content includes referral to guidelines and links to patient organizations.

Conclusions: The portal is the first of its kind in Norway, and as far as we know, worldwide. Providing easy access to summarised evidence of the effects of treatments will support providers, children and their next of kin in making informed choices. This systematization of the research literature will also reveal evidence gaps and direct new research initiatives.

Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: Feedback from patients is a key element of the development, and user-representatives are invited to contribute as peer-reviewers and authors. The portal is also planned to be user-tested, feedback from this testing will shape its further development.

Attachments: 

PDF icon Evidenceportal_cochrane_levert_22.02.2018.pdf

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

The evidence portal described in this abstract is developed to improve young people with mental health issues, their next of kin and their providers with access to reliable evidence on treatments. The development process includes user.involvement through peer-review processes, user-testing and a planned system for prioritising future research inititives.