Table 1.

Mental health service transition barriers, facilitators and the role of digital communications (DC).

Theme	Barriers and facilitators	Potential DC role
Service user and  clinician  relationships	Barriers: lack of trust in clinicians who are perceived as uncaring, poor relationships	Can DC foster relationships between service users and clinicians?
	Facilitators: trust in and rapport with clinicians, family involvement
	(Dimitropoulos et al., 2015; Hovish et al., 2012; Lindgren et al., 2013; McLaren et al., 2013; Reale et al., 2015)
Information  sharing	Barriers: lack of adequate information prior to and post transition, poor communication	Can DC enhance effective information sharing through developmentally appropriate formats?
	Facilitators: information sharing through age-appropriate formats
	(Dunn, 2017; Hovish et al., 2012; Lindgren et al., 2013; Reale et al., 2015; Riosa et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2010)
Being listened to	Barriers: young people feeling their voices are not heard, a reluctance to express themselves	Can DC enhance perceptions of a clinician's ability to listen and offer care tailored to individuals?
	Facilitators: clinicians who listen and offer personalised services
	(Dunn, 2017; Hovish et al., 2012; Riosa et al., 2015)
Service  accessibility	Barriers: lack of suitable appointments, poor geographical accessibility and non-developmental service models	Can DC improve accessibility to services and appointment availability?
	Facilitators: easily contactable, flexible and accessible services with continuity of care
	(Hovish et al., 2012; Paul et al., 2015; Reale et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2010; Swift et al., 2013)
Autonomy	Barriers: failure to foster personal responsibility	Can DC encourage autonomy and personal responsibility?
	Facilitators: promoting autonomy, responsibility, motivation for self-management and shared-care goals
	(Dunn, 2017; Lindgren et al., 2013; Swift et al., 2013)