Understanding how care-experienced young people in England seek help for mental health problems

Care-experienced yOung peopLe’s mentaL heAlth help-seekinG bEhaviours (COLLAGE): A mixed-methods observational study using a cross-sectional survey and follow-up qualitative interviews to investigate mental health help-seeking among care-experienced young people in England

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN61644978

Enrollment

175

Registered

2026-06-29

Start date

2026-01-05

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-07-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental health help-seeking in young people with experience of out-of-home care in England Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

This is a mixed-methods observational study including an evidence synthesis, a cross-sectional online survey, and follow-up qualitative interviews. First, a systematic review of international literat

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

13 Years to 25 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged 13 to 25 years (survey); 16 to 25 years (interviews) 2. Experience of out-of-home care in England (including foster care, residential care, or kinship care) 3. Out-of-home care experience within the past 10 years and lasting at least 3 months 4. Able to provide informed consent (or assent where appropriate)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. No experience of out-of-home care in England 2. Out-of-home care experience less than 3 months or more than 10 years ago 3. Currently receiving mental health crisis care or emergency mental health support (e.g., inpatient psychiatric care or intensive crisis services)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Help-seeking behaviour measured using the Actual Help-Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ) at survey completion (single timepoint)	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Help-seeking intentions measured using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ) at survey completion (single timepoint);Help-seeking barriers measured using the Barriers to Adolescents Seeking Help Scale – Brief Version (BASH-B) at survey completion (single timepoint);Depression symptoms measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) at survey completion (single timepoint);Anxiety symptoms measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) at survey completion (single timepoint);Self-harm measured using items from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS) at survey completion (single timepoint);Suicidality measured using items from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS) at survey completion (single timepoint);Associations between help-seeking behaviours and demographic and care-related characteristics measured using self-reported survey data analysed using regression models at survey completion (single timepoint);Experiences of mental health help-seeking measured using semi-structured qualitative interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis at the time of interview;Preferences for mental health support and services measured using semi-structured qualitative interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis at the time of interview	—

Measure

Time frame

Help-seeking intentions measured using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ) at survey completion (single timepoint);Help-seeking barriers measured using the Barriers to Adolescents Seeking Help Scale – Brief Version (BASH-B) at survey completion (single timepoint);Depression symptoms measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) at survey completion (single timepoint);Anxiety symptoms measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) at survey completion (single timepoint);Self-harm measured using items from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS) at survey completion (single timepoint);Suicidality measured using items from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS) at survey completion (single timepoint);Associations between help-seeking behaviours and demographic and care-related characteristics measured using self-reported survey data analysed using regression models at survey completion (single timepoint);Experiences of mental health help-seeking measured using semi-structured qualitative interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis at the time of interview;Preferences for mental health support and services measured using semi-structured qualitative interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis at the time of interview

—

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactWillem Stander

w.stander@bham.ac.uk+44 (0)1214143114

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Jul 23, 2026