An Innovative Model of Pediatric Emergency Department Mental Health Care: Protocol for a Multicenter Type 1...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Emergency department (ED) visits for child and youth mental health concerns have significantly increased.
• Current ED practices often lack pediatric-specific tools and patient-centered approaches for mental health emergencies.
• These limitations can result in suboptimal quality and efficiency in acute mental health care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel, co-designed mental health care bundle for children and youth presenting to EDs with mental health or substance misuse concerns.
• To determine if the novel care bundle improves child and youth well-being 30 days post-ED visit compared to standard care.
• To assess the cost-effectiveness of the novel care bundle within the healthcare system.

Main Methods:

• A clinical trial protocol is described to evaluate a co-designed mental health care bundle.
• The study will compare outcomes of the novel bundle against existing care protocols.
• The intervention was developed in collaboration with parents and youth.

Main Results:

• The study hypothesizes that the novel care bundle will lead to greater improvements in child and youth well-being.
• The study also hypothesizes positive cost-effective healthcare system benefits.
• Results regarding the impact on well-being and cost-effectiveness are pending trial completion.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for improved, patient-centered mental health care in emergency departments for children and youth.
• A co-designed mental health care bundle may offer a more effective and efficient approach to acute care.
• Further research is needed to validate the benefits of this novel approach.