2.6. Compassionate Cases
RECRUITMENT
All participating countries allowed participants who did not meet the inclusion criteria to attend the ME-WE groups. They were identified as AYCs during recruitment and were interested in participating in the intervention. They expressed a need for support, but no alternatives for support other than the ME-WE-groups were available for them at that particular time or place. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of compassionate use became more relevant as almost all regular support for young people was or remained cancelled due to the pandemic restrictions.In most of the cases they had not met the inclusion criteria as a consequence of their age, i.e., being 14 or 18 years old. In the UK and Sweden, those on psychotropic medication and those either in current receipt of a psychotherapeutic intervention or mental health counselling or planning to receive such therapies during the course of the ME-WE C-RCT study were also deemed compassionate cases.Access to the ME-WE groups was allowed on a case-by-case assessment. National Clinical Trial Managers (CTMs) requested permission for inclusion from the project’s CTM and Ethics, Gender and Data Manager (EGDM). Informed consent procedures were applied as standard in this C-RCT study for AYCs aged 15–17. Furthermore, for participants below the age of 15, informed consent of a parent or guardian was obtained. Compassionate cases might have completed the evaluation questionnaires at any of the three assessment points, but their data were excluded from the formal evaluation of the intervention.