Being Young : My Mental Health

A 12-month Prospective Cohort Study of Mental Health Care Pathways of Adolescents and Young Adults

The goal of this prospective cohort study is to study the evolution of adolescent and young people's mental health over a 12-month period after presentation to an emergency department or crisis service for an acute psychiatric episode.

This study aims to:

• Describe the mental health care trajectories of adolescents and young adults after an acute psychiatric episode.
• Identify psychiatric disorders (such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, sleep, etc.) at the different time points of the study (at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after inclusion) ;
• Assess the quality of life and functional capacity in daily activities of participants at each study time point ;
• Determine the socio-demographic, psychosocial and environmental factors associated with improving mental health over time and with mental health help seeking.

Patients aged from 10 to 24, presenting to one of the participating centers for an acute psychiatric episode, and who agree to participate, will be included in the study. Participants will have to complete an online questionnaire every 3 months over a 12-month period (at baseline (T0), at 3 months (T3), at 6 months (T6), at 9 month (T9) and at 12 months (T12))

Recruitment process

A poster campaign will be carry out in all study locations. Patients aged between 10 and 25 visiting one of the study location will be invited to participate in the study. The clinical research associates will visit all study location on a weekly basis in order to present the study to eligible patients.

After checking the inclusion criteria, the clinical research associate will call eligible patients (or their legal representative for patients under 18) to present the study, the implications related to study participation, and obtain their oral consent. Patients who were willing to participate in the study will be automatically identify by a number.

Follow-up :

Patients will have to complete an online questionnaire at different time of the study: at baseline, at 3 months, at 6 months, at 9 months and at 12 months. For the participants aged under 18, the questionnaire will have to complete by or with the help of the parental representative.

Investigators will collect socio-demographic, clinical data related to the acute psychiatric episode, and health care pathway over time. Mental health assessments will be based on standardized questionnaires.

Clinical research associates will send an email to all participants to complete the initial questionnaire (at baseline). Then, they will coordinate patient follow-up, and will send automatic reminder through email at the different times of the study :at 3 months (M3), 6 months (M6), 9 months (M9) and 12 months (M12) to complete the follow-up questionnaires online. Patients will be awarded a gift voucher worth €10 after each completed questionnaire.

Inclusion Criteria :

All patients

• aged from 10 to 24 years old
• had an consultation in one the study locations for psychiatric reason

Exclusion Criteria :

• Absence of consent of the patient or the parental authority holder (for minor patient)
• Adult patients under legal protection
• Lack of proficiency in French (language of the study)