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Table 5 The Top Five Prioritised statements within each theme (based on average score)

From: Promoting children’s health when a parent has a mental health problem: a mixed methods study of the experiences and views of health visitors and their co-workers

Theme

Group

Statements

Scoring

Total

Average

Voted for as a priority?

Services

2

Provide support groups for early intervention

5,4,4

13

3.25

yes

 

2

Employ a PMH (perinatal mental health) specialist with no caseload

3,4,3,2

12

3.00

yes

3

Health visitors have direct access to tangible support

4,1,3,3,5,2

18

1.50

yes

2

Joint working to bring together all specialities

5

5

1.25

yes

2

Improved awareness of the services available among multidisciplinary team (MDT)

5

5

1.25

yes

Communication

1

Improve communication pathways in MDT

4,1,5,5,5,1,5,5,5,1,5,1

43

2.96

yes

 

4

Talk to parents routinely about mental health

5,3,3

11

1.57

yes

4

Ensure the client’s voice is heard when making assessments

4,4

8

1.14

yes

2

Listen to the family rather than giving out information

4

4

1.00

no

3

Effective discussion with MDT and family

5,4

9

0.75

no

Education and Training

2

Better understanding of mental health among health visitor team

3,2,2,5

12

3.00

yes

 

4

Better training in psychological support to improve interventions

4,5,5,2

16

2.29

yes

1

Education in mental health for health visitor staff

1,3,2,3,3,4,4,3,2

25

1.72

yes

3

Health visitors need training in understanding mental health issues

3,5,4

12

1.00

yes

4

Mental Health First Aid Training (MHFA) needed

3,4

7

1.00

yes

Focus on Strengths

3

Build a trusting relationship

5,2,4,4,1

16

1.33

yes

 

1

Discuss safety plans with the family

5,3,5,5

18

1.24

yes

3

Work with MDT on signs of safety, setting sustainable goals

5,2,3,2

12

1.00

yes

4

Support families to overcome barriers to accessing additional support

3,3

6

0.86

no

1

Build a ‘team around the health visitor’

1,4,4

9

0.62

no

Focus on child

4

Keep focus on child when supporting parental mental health issues

5,5,5,5

20

2.86

yes

 

3

Maintain a focus on child wellbeing within MDT

2,5,1,3,5,1

17

1.42

yes

1

Wider definition of risk to include neurodevelopmental risk

5,5,3,5

18

1.24

yes

3

Recognise health visitors’ unique ability to assess home environment

4,5

9

0.75

no

4

Develop health visitors” ability to recognise impact upon child

4

4

0.57

no

Referrals

2

Ensure timely and appropriate referrals to other services

3

3

0.75

no

 

4

Make clear referral pathways

4,1

5

0.71

no

 

1

Ensure appropriate referrals with clear roles and responsibilities

5,4,1

10

0.69

yes

 

3

Health visitors understand roles and pathways of MDT

4,3

7

0.58

no

 

4

Health visitors can refer directly to mental health services

1

1

0.14

no