A systematic review of the principles of co-production in relation to the mental health and wellbeing of care leavers

Abstract

This paper reviews prior applications of co-production principles and their potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of care leavers. There is minimal research available on care leaver narratives of their experiences and consequent mental health and wellbeing needs. This paper explores the relevance of different, sometimes opposed, approaches to co-production, the knowledge which can be gained about the mental health and wellbeing needs of care leavers, and finally the potential for lifelong learning through co-production with care leavers. A systematic review was selected to draw conclusions about how the method of co-production could improve awareness of and provisions for care leaver mental health and wellbeing. This review included 14 sources with a total of 541 participants. Following a rigorous systematic review on these themes, conclusions were drawn suggesting that co-production involving care experienced individuals, whilst faced with a range of considerations to ensure success, can have largely positive impacts on care leaver mental health and wellbeing and is therefore a recommended methodology.