Promoting Earlier Access to Pediatric Behavioral Health Services with Colocated Care

Area of Science:

• Pediatric primary care
• Behavioral health integration
• Child and adolescent mental health

Background:

• Behavioral health (BH) issues in youth often go untreated or are treated late.
• Integrating BH services into primary care may improve access and timeliness of care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if youth access BH care earlier when services are co-located within pediatric primary care clinics.
• To compare the severity and duration of problems for youth referred from on-site versus off-site sources.

Main Methods:

• Study conducted in six Midwest primary care clinics with co-located BH providers.
• Collected data on session attendance, symptom severity (Child Behavior Checklist), problem duration, and improvement ratings.
• Compared outcomes for on-site referrals versus off-site referrals using descriptive statistics, t tests, and regression analyses.

Main Results:

• Youth accessing BH services in primary care clinics accessed care earlier.
• Presenting problems were less severe and had a shorter duration for those referred from within the clinic.
• On-site referrals demonstrated earlier access to care compared to off-site referrals.

Conclusions:

• Co-location of BH services in pediatric primary care facilitates earlier access to care for youth.
• Early access to BH services in integrated settings may lead to improved patient outcomes.
• This study provides evidence for the benefits of integrated behavioral health in primary care for pediatric populations.