Background:About 17 % of children aged 3-17 years are affected by a mental health problem (MHP). Office-based paediatricians are the first in line to be contacted. Nevertheless, even for less severely affected patients, referral rates to specialised care are constantly high. A major statutory health insurance fund introduced a Health Coaching (HC) programme, including a training concept for paediatricians, standardized guidelines for actions, and additional payments to strengthen primary care consultation for MHP and to decrease referrals to specialized care. The aim of this study was to examine how the HC is perceived and implemented in daily practice to indicate potential strengths and challenges.Methods:In 2017 and 2018, a series of guideline-based interviews were conducted by phone with HC-developers, HC-qualified paediatricians, parents and patients (≥14 years) treated according to the HC programme. Paediatricians were selected from a Bavarian practice network. Parents of patients with the four most common MHP diagnoses were approached by their health insurance. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Structuring content analysis derived from Mayring was used for analysis. Sample size was determined by saturation.Results:11 paediatricians, 3 developers, 22 parents and four adolescents were included. Families were generally satisfied with paediatric care received in the programme’s context. The HC supported paediatricians’ essential role as consultants and improved their diagnostic skills. Time and financial restrictions as well as patients’ challenging family structures were reported as major barriers to success.Conclusion: The HC programme is perceived as a facilitator for more patient-centeredcare, however, structural barriers remain.
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