Scaling a digital platform for informing and improving child and adolescent mental health service delivery and research: results from the first 10,000 families engaged with myHealthE

Abstract Background With rising referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), patient- and caregiver-facing digital platforms could streamline service delivery and research. With South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, the CAMHS Digital Lab developed myHealthE, a digital platform for families to access advice and support from the point of referral to CAMHS in South London, submit routine outcome measures, and consent to be contacted about relevant research studies. Method This secondary analysis descriptively summarised data from n=10,151 families under CAMHS invited to register on myHealthE between 2021 and 2023. Referral details, demographic and clinical characteristics were derived via the Clinical Record Interactive Search. myHealthE engagement was measured using Google Analytics. Routine outcome measures (particularly the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]) were collected via myHealthE. Results Of the invited families, 87.1% registered on myHealthE, and 85.4% completed at least one SDQ via the platform during their care episode. Overall, families completed n=29,906 SDQs during their episode of CAMHS support, mostly via myHealthE (93.2%) rather than conventional pen-and-paper methods (6.8%). Families engaged with resources on myHealthE, with 7,900 views of ‘Your Referral’ and ‘Information While You Wait’ pages over six-months. The platform also increased capacity for research recruitment, with 65.5% of families who consented for research contact over a 12-month period doing so via myHealthE. Conclusions myHealthE provides a valuable tool for patients, caregivers, clinicians and researchers. Such platforms can fulfil multiple functions. This is advantageous for both informing clinical service delivery, and for conducting research.