Exploring the needs of service users with a co-existing mental health and neurodevelopmental disorder accessing Mental Health Services in Cwm Taf University Health Board (CTUHB)

Background:
Previous literature has demonstrated a link between neurodevelopmental disorders and mental health disorders. For example, Lai, Lombardo and Baron-Cohen (2014) found a 42-56% co-occurrence between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and anxiety and a 12-70% co-occurrence with depression. In the general population, 15% of individuals display symptoms of at least one anxiety disorder; for people with ASD, this percentage is 40% (Galanopoulos, A., Robertson, D., Spain, D. and Murphy, C., 2014).
Murphy et al. (2016) discusses a lack of research into ASD in adulthood, particularly in areas such as identifying co-morbid health difficulties and research involving the views of individuals with autism. Murphy et al. (2016) also argue that there is an urgent need for health services to conduct research into adults with autism. This study aims to contribute to these gaps in the literature.

This study has two aims:
1. To explore the needs of service users with co-occurring neurodevelopmental and mental health disorder, and to establish whether Cwm Taf University Health Board (CTUHB) are meeting these identified needs.
2. To evaluate knowledge and understanding of ASD amongst staff working within adult mental health services in CTUHB.

Method/Description:
This project is divided into two phases; Phase 1 involves service users with co-existing ASD and mental health disorder, whilst the sample for Phase 2 is staff working within adult mental health services in CTUHB.
Phase 1: Service users will take part in a focus group/individual interview (either online or face-to-face) to explore the service needs of this population, and establish whether these needs are being met by CTUHB’s adult mental health service. Sixty service users will be recruited to take part, and access to service users will be facilitated through the health board.
Phase 2: Staff working within CTUHB will be asked to complete an online ‘Knowledge and Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders’ questionnaire. Staff will then be given the opportunity to take part in a follow-up focus group to investigate staff perceptions of their knowledge of ASD in relation to the service user feedback from Phase 1.

Potential Findings:
The needs of service users with co-occurring ASD and mental health disorder will be identified, and whether these needs are being met by CTUHB will be determined. The level of ASD knowledge of staff working within adult mental health services will be established.

Conclusion:
The findings from this study will potentially contribute towards the development of an effective service delivery model for adults with ASD and co-occurring mental health conditions who access the adult mental health service in CTUHB. This project allows for service user views to be considered when evaluating the service and to be involved in the service’s development.