Co-production in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

Co-production is not a new concept (Loeffler 2009; Needham and Carr 2009; Durose et al. 2015). It was first coined by Professor Elinor Ostrom in the 1970s, when Ostrom and her research team investigated why there was an increase in crime rates when the police services in Chicago moved from in-person, community policing to utilizing motor vehicles for policing purposes (Ostrom 1996; Griffiths and Foley 2009; Park 2020). Since then, co-production has grown exponentially within an array of different service contexts, including in economics, management, politics, health, and, now, mental health (Norton in press). Resulting from this movement across disciplines, co-production has no universal definition (Glynos and Speed 2012; Hanley 2013; Johns and Paylor 2018; Salisbury 2020; Beresford et al. 2021). However, for the purposes of this summary, Norton (in press) defines co-production as ‘the creation and continuous development of a dialogical space where all stakeholders, including service users, family members, carers, supporters and service providers enter a collaborative partnership with the aim of not only improving their own care but also that of service provision’. The evidence for co-production in mental health is continuing to further develop and grow, with many scholars developing the term to this day. However, a recent systematic review of the literature (Norton 2021) identified that there is a paucity of high-quality evidence into how co-production works within the child and adolescent mental health setting. Additionally, there is also a gap in the literature in relation to quantitative evidence to support the development of co-production within a mental health setting (Verschuere et al. 2012; Sorrentino et al. 2018).

For the proposed Special Issue, we welcome papers that focus on these aspects of co-production within child and adolescent mental health. Of particular interest are papers that discuss the ethical dilemmas that may result from the implementation of co-production within child and adolescent mental health. Furthermore, we welcome various methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, reviews, and perspectives/discussions) to provide further insight into the topic of co-production in order to support mental health service providers working with this population to work and approach their work in a recovery-orientated manner. The key findings will provide stakeholders (youth, service providers, and management) with insight into how co-production can work with this population group given the ethical constraints that may be associated with its implementation here.

Michael John Norton
Dr. Calvin Swords
Guest Editors

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