Mind Your Health: The physical and mental health of looked after children and young people in Northern Ireland

Location: N. Ireland

Author: McSherry, D., Fargas Malet, M., McLaughlin, K., Adams, C., O’Neill, N., Cole, J., & Walsh, C. (2015). Mind Your Health: The physical and mental health of looked after children and young people in Northern Ireland. Belfast: Queens University Belfast.

Year: 2015

Summary:

The Mind Your Health study is a Queen’s University study, supported by a grant from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM). The research study, which ran from May 2012 to April 2015 (three years), set out to profile the health needs of the Looked After children and young people (LACYP) population in Northern Ireland, and to explore how these needs were currently being met. The study used a mixed-methods approach, which included: a review of policy and practice documents; five focus group interviews with senior social work managers in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts; 233 telephone interviews with carers (foster, kinship, and residential); 25 semi-structured interviews with young people; and multi-disciplinary focus group interviews with professionals in four HSC Trusts.