MILESTONE Project
The MILESTONE Project: Managing the Link and Strengthening Transition from Child (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Care Services (AMHS)
What is the Project about?
The main aim of the MILESTONE project is to understand and improve transition of care from CAMHS to AMHS for young people across different healthcare systems in Europe. The project is made up of several work packages which cover various aspects of transition research, including testing a model of managed transition in a clinical trial, a longitudinal cohort study of young people reaching the end of care at CAMHS, and investigating ethical aspects of transition (see table of work packages).
The project will run from February 2014 to January 2019 and is a collaboration between universities and research institutions in eight different European countries.
For more information see the MILESTONE Project website and our video below.
Why is this research important?
Previous research on transition in the UK (the TRACK Study, Singh et al, 2009) concluded that for the vast majority of CAMHS service users, transition from CAMHS to AMHS is poorly planned, poorly executed and poorly experienced. A large number of young people with mental health problems fall through the care gap and don’t transition from CAMHS to AMHS. Those who transition successfully experience an improvement in their mental health.
There is international concern about young people who get ‘lost’ during their move from CAMHS to AMHS. Disruption of care during transition may adversely affect the health, wellbeing and potential of this vulnerable group. Findings from the study will help transform mental health care in the EU for young people, enhance patient outcomes, quality of life, and service satisfaction, and improve mental health status at individual and population levels.
Our partners
Our MILESTONE partners include universities and research institutions in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Croatia. In addition to our external partners we are also working closely with the Clinical Trials Unit and Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.
The MILESTONE Study
This study has two parts: a) it aims to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an innovative model of managed transition in improving the outcomes of young people who reach the transition boundary between CAMHS and AMHS. It also b) follows up the young people for two years to determine their outcomes and experiences after reaching the boundary. The study is managed by a team in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit at Warwick Medical School.
For more detailed information about the MILESTONE Study and wider project please contact helena dot tuomainen at warwick dot ac dot uk
MILESTONE Blog
Read the latest blog posts from the MILESTONE team here
Chief Investigator
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 602442
