[Mapping municipal psychosocial services for children and parents: access and coordination barriers in preventive...

Services for the primary and secondary prevention of mental disorders in children are distributed across the health, education and social sectors. Comprehensive prevention requires their coordinated collaboration at the municipal level. However, there is currently no systematic scientific assessment of municipal psychosocial service landscapes for families.

In two socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods in a large city in western Germany and one in eastern Germany, professionals from the health, education and social sectors were interviewed (N = 19), and psychosocial prevention services were mapped online across sectors. Services were categorised according to support functions, and the results were fed back into the interview findings.

Professionals described the service landscape as fragmented and difficult to navigate; information and navigation barriers particularly affect low-income and immigrant families. The mapping identified 122 facilities providing 360 services visible online. It revealed sector-specific patterns; indications of potential undersupply in specialised paediatrics, child and adolescent psychotherapy, and child and adolescent psychiatry; limited outreach to migrants; and differences in the digital findability of services.

The mixed-methods approach provides a basis for developing an instrument for the systematic assessment of psychosocial service landscapes. However, the mapping captured only services visible online and has not yet included waiting times, further barriers to access or actual service use. Future instruments should address these aspects in greater detail and involve professionals in the development of the instrument.