Integration of physical and mental health services for children and young people with eating disorders and functional symptom disorders: discrete choice experiment.

Background: Given the increasing recognition of the value of greater integration of physical and mental health services for children and young people, we aimed to evaluate preferences among parents for the characteristics associated with integrated health service provision for two conditions (eating disorders, functional symptom disorders).

Methods: Two discrete choice experiments (DCEs) were conducted, using electronic surveys. Participants were adult parents of children and young people. Choice scenarios were based on five attributes for the eating disorders study, and four attributes for the functional symptom disorders study.

Results: Two hundred parents participated in each DCE. For eating disorders, days missed from school in the last year was the attribute valued most highly, followed by days in hospital in the last year, costs to the NHS, functioning, and interaction with peers with eating disorders. Respondents were willing to trade £531 of costs to the NHS for one less day missed from school. For functional symptom disorders, time to diagnosis was valued most highly, followed by days missed from school while obtaining a diagnosis, reservations about seeing a mental health practitioner, and costs of diagnosis to the NHS. Respondents were willing to trade £4237 of costs to the NHS to wait one month less for a diagnosis.

Conclusion: Respondents' preferences were largely consistent with the planned goals of integrating physical and mental health services. Our findings show the factors which ought to be considered when designing new integrated pathways and evaluating them.