About Us
What is the Adolescent Mental Health Data Platform?
The Adolescent Mental Health Data Platform (ADP) is an innovative change in children and young people’s mental health research capacity. The research platform and infrastructure provides a safe and secure environment to conduct research to improve children and young peoples’ mental health by pooling data from multiple sources and curating individual datasets. Linking routinely collected data such as health, deprivation, social care data with clinical interviews, psychological, biological and genetic data can offer new insights into the field of child and adolescent mental health research.
The ADP is funded by MQ, a charity that champions and funds world-class research to transform the lives of everyone affected by a mental health condition.
Research Capability
Data from multiple sources are held in the ADP. The platform utilises the UKSeRP technology created by Swansea University. Linking datasets for innovative research can provide new insights in child and adolescent mental health. This advanced data linkage research platform holds high quality data intended solely for research in the area of child and adolescent mental health and offers a secure environment to conduct research analysis.
Research EnvironmentProtecting Personal Data
We ensure that all data held within the ADP is secure and protected. A robust, tightly controlled Privacy by Design methodology is regulated by a team of specialists as well as an independent Research Governance Review Panel. The ADP does not handle identifiable data as all commonly-recognised identifying details are removed before the datasets come into the platform. This ensures that the ADP cannot reconstruct the identifiable datasets.
Anonymisation ProcessOur Mission
The ADP is dedicated to providing a safe, secure and trusted means of conducting research on child and adolescent mental health that can be used to support better policy making, practice and the wellbeing of children and adolescents. In order to achieve this we provide opportunities for innovative research by working collaboratively with research organisations, data providers, researchers and members of the public throughout the UK and internationally.
Vision
The vision of the ADP is to be an international leader in child and adolescent mental health research. The ADP strives to determine how we might better understand, treat and support young people who are living with a mental health condition.
Values
- Ensuring research is a benefit to society
- Commitment to maintaining privacy and trust
- Engaging with our stakeholders to ensure best practice
- Working collaboratively to provide opportunities for innovative research
- Strive to be the best at what we do
Governance & Management
In order to ensure that we work with the right researchers, all applicants must first fill out a series of application forms that are reviewed by the Research Governance Review Panel (RGRP). This panel is made up of a range of people with a variety of experience and expertise in the information governance requirements covering health and social care.
The ADP Steering Group meets quarterly to discuss research studies, data, collaborations, communication and infrastructure.
Once a year, the ADP consults with the Study Advisory Group, an external group that discusses the strategic direction of the platform. This group is made up of experts, clinicians and service users.