6820 The Happiness Toolkit – novel model of care in treating paediatric behavioural and mental health conditions in an inpatient setting

Objectives The WHO estimate that one in seven 10–19-year-olds experiences a mental health disorder while 'My World Survey 2'/The National Study of Youth Mental Health in Ireland conducted in 2019 involved 10,459 adolescents revealed 49% of participants had anxiety while 40% suffered from depression.¹ ² Mental health conditions and behavioural issues were seen to be on the rise even before the COVID-19 pandemic.³ However, extremely long waiting lists to access Psychology or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) further compounds the problem. The Happiness Toolkit is a resource comprising of six evidence-based techniques that has proven to boost self-esteem, develop resilience and promote positive mental health while awaiting Psychology and CAMHS input.⁴ We aim to explore if the Happiness Toolkit allows children and their families to engage in positive mental health practices that may lead to improved mental health or cessation of symptoms in an inpatient setting. Methods We undertook retrospective chart review of children less than 16 years of age with behavioural and mental health disorders who presented to the Paediatrics Unit in a Regional Hospital in Ireland from May 2022 to September 2023 and received intervention in the form of the Happiness Toolkit. Results Thirteen patients aged 10 to 15 years were included during this study period. 69% of patients were 14 to 15 years old, while 84.6% were female. Eating disorder was the leading diagnosis in this study (61.5%) followed by intentional medication overdose (38.4%). Anxiety was the most common co-existing symptom (87.5%) along with eating disorder. 3 out of 5 patients with intentional medications overdose had suicidal intention. 38.5% of patients required more than one-week inpatient stay, and 15.4% required 2–3 months inpatient stay. 61.5% of patients had review with CAMHS as inpatient and subsequently 76.9% of patients are linked with CAMHS. All patients received the Happiness Toolkit as part of their management care plan. All of them expressed satisfaction with the Happiness Toolkit intervention during the inpatient stay and follow up. All patients were compliant with self-care skills of smiling a vision, mindfulness and positive physical contact. Twelve patients expressed satisfaction with practising the Hand Brain model. Nine patients expressed compliance with social relatedness and positive physical contact. All thirteen patients reported cessation of symptoms with only one patient having recurrence of symptoms but subsequently recovered. Only 50% of them continued to be linked with psychology or CAMHS. Conclusion Our study showed that the Happiness Toolkit can be effective in management of Paediatrics behavioural and mental health conditions.The results of this study are promising regarding the use of this novel model of care alongside psychology and CAMHS in treating paediatric mental health conditions in an inpatient setting. References World Health Organization. Mental health of adolescents. November 2021. B Dooley, C O'Connor, A Fitzgerald, A O'Reilly. My World Survey 2. The National Study of Youth Mental Health in Ireland. 2019. Z Yusuf, F Sharif. A time for action: tackling paediatrics behavioural and emotional disorders. Irish Medical Journal. 2019. E Power, F Sharif. Primary and secondary care approach to paediatric mental health conditions: a novel model of care. BMJ Paediatrics. 2022.