Cross-national clinical exchange in child psychiatry across cultural contexts and mental health systems: a scoping review

Abstract Background Clinical practice in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) relies on internationally shared, empirically grounded guidelines, yet their application is influenced by socioeconomic and cultural differences. Cross-national clinical exchange allows health professionals to learn from similarities and differences. The objective of this scoping review was to map cross-national clinical exchange in CAP and summarise reported benefits, challenges, and impacts on clinical practice. Methods This scoping review was conducted in line with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. PubMed, PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched for publications between January 2015 and October 2025. Eligible records involved clinicians, trainees, or teams engaged in cross-national expertise exchange within CAP (0–18 years). Findings were synthesised thematically. Results After deduplication, 1,944 records were identified. Twenty-one full text articles were assessed. Three studies were included from the United States, India and the Netherlands. Main themes show that exchange programmes result in awareness of differences and similarities; recognition of the interactions between clinical practice, culture, and mental health care services; and professional development. Conclusions Evidence is limited, but pilot programmes suggest cross-national exchanges increase awareness of culture and care system organisation shaping clinical practice. Further research should assess the added value, cost-effectiveness, and which formats work best for whom. Trial registration This review was preregistered on the Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/pqm3t/ .