Distress Brief Intervention - under 18s elements: evaluation
This evaluation of the under 18s elements of Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) provides evidence of promising practice, and indications that DBI can be an effective intervention for use with young people.
Footnotes
1 A small number of 18 years olds who are in S6 were referred to DBI and received support. The evaluation included one 18 year old in the qualitative interview sample.
2 Improvement science is a problem-solving approach centred on continuous inquiry and learning, commonly used in healthcare settings.
3 The DBI team now uses the term “induction” to refer to training for Level 1 referrers.
4 Over 18s reported ‘stress/anxiety’ (65.7%), ‘depressed/low mood’ (64.2) and suicidal thoughts (36.9%) as presenting problems.
5 Over 18s reported relationships (40.0%), emotional well-being (28.8%), life coping issues (28.0%) and employment issues (19.6%) as contributory factors.
6 This data covers the period from 1st February 2023 to 30th September 2024 when categorical fields were introduced rather than free text.
7 Referred to as ‘initiated’ in the DBI Level 2 routine dataset.
8 DBI Level Two Data Collection Questionnaire: Thinking about your contact with the service that referred you (name the referring service) in the last 24 hours. Did you feel the service, listened to you, understood you and wanted to help?
9 DBI Level Two Data Collection Questionnaire: Thinking about your contact with the service that referred you (name the referring service) in the last 24 hours. Did the service make you feel more able to manage your immediate distress?
10 DBI Level Two Data Collection Questionnaire: Thinking about the DBI level two service you have received. Did the service make you feel that you were meeting your own goals?
11 Distress Management Plan (D-MaP): A resource to help someone receiving DBI support to begin to explore and make sense of their distress. It is used with individual with the aim of clarifying their aims and expectations for DBI, problem-solving key issues and identifying strategies to manage their distress now and in the longer term. The D-MaP is considered a mandatory component of DBI.
12 DBI Level Two Data Collection Questionnaire: Thinking about your contact with the DBI level two service. Did you feel the service, listened to you, understood you and wanted to help?
13Scottish Government. (2023). Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
14 Scottish Government (2019) The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD).
15 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989)
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot