Herlitz, Lauren;
Ashford, Emily;
Baldwin, James;
Powell, Claire;
Woodman, Jenny;
(2024)
Care-experienced young people's views and experiences of accessing general practice and dental services and attending health reviews in England: a qualitative study.
BMC Primary Care
, 25
(1)
, Article 318. 10.1186/s12875-024-02569-0.
Preview |
PDF
Care-experienced young peoples views and experiences of accessing general practice and dental services and attending health .pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Background: Children in care and care leavers have worse health outcomes than their peers without care experience. This study addresses an evidence gap in exploring care-experienced young people’s views and experiences of accessing general practice and dental services and attending health reviews in England. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using podcasting as a creative medium. We recruited young people from two sites: one in South England (A) and one in greater London (B). We held two paired discussions in site A and two focus groups in site B, with 14 participants in total. Participants were aged between 13 and 22 years and were diverse in gender, ethnicity, and care experiences. Data were analysed thematically using candidacy theory as a theoretical framework. Results: Mental health was a prevailing concern for participants, but general practice was not considered a place to discuss it. Most participants reported distant relationships with primary healthcare professionals and considered opening-up to a professional to be risky, for example, it could result in an unknown/unwanted outcome. A lack of time and personal connection in appointments, and experiences of feeling judged, dismissed, or misunderstood, hindered young people’s ability to disclose mental health or relationship concerns. Participants reported variation in the timeliness and location of services, with salient examples of extensive waiting periods for braces. Participants perceived annual health reviews to be largely inconsequential. Conclusions: Any primary care presentation by a care-experienced young person should trigger additional professional curiosity. To build rapport and trust, professionals should not underestimate the power of active listening, being reliable and honest, and small acts of thoughtfulness, for example, ensuring medical letters are provided promptly. Carers and other trusted professionals should help care-experienced young people to understand the role of primary care and support them with access. Health reviews may not be of value to all young people in care. Further research is needed to examine primary healthcare access for care-experienced young people with significant safeguarding and healthcare needs.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Care-experienced young people's views and experiences of accessing general practice and dental services and attending health reviews in England: a qualitative study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12875-024-02569-0 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02569-0 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Primary Health Care, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, Looked after, Out-of-home care, Primary care, General practice, Dental practice, MENTAL-HEALTH, FOSTER-CARE, ORAL-HEALTH, CHILDREN |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205112 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
