Patient Participation in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - A Scoping Review

The present study deals with the concept of participation in inpatient child- and adolescent mental health care. Aim is to analyse theoretical constructs in the light of a literature review on participation as an important method to implement patient autonomy in the specific context. The potential for conflict of patient autonomy as a greater principle and the absence of literature reviews on the topic make this study essential. The method is a scoping-review. 978 texts from three central databases have been screened for title and abstract, 27 have been included. The results show arguments, barriers and methods of participation. Most of the arguments are utilitarian: positive effects on patients, therapists and the hospital. On the other hand, there are multiple barriers of implementation: willingness of physicians, reticence of patients and systemic barriers. Structures of cooperation, key figures and interactive information brochures have already been used as methods of participation. In conclusion, a contextual concept of participation is proposed: Shared Care Planning. It is meant to be independent from the capacity to give informed consent and underlines the importance of day-to-day issues. It calls for the consideration of the mentioned barriers and a high flexibility of participation methods.