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Pediatric Mental Health Emergency Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Daniel Hernández-Calle1, Jorge Andreo-Jover1,2, Javier Curto-Ramos1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Mental Health, La Paz University Madrid, Spain.

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology
|July 15, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic initially decreased paediatric mental health emergency department (ED) visits, but saw a subsequent rise, particularly for suicide-related concerns. This highlights the critical need for accessible youth mental healthcare during and after the pandemic.

Area of Science:

  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on global mental health.
  • Initial reports indicated a decrease in psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits during the early outbreak.
  • Long-term mental healthcare needs are expected to increase, especially for children and adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine changes in the frequency and diagnoses of mental health ED visits among pediatric patients (<18 years).
  • To analyze trends in mental health ED visits before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Madrid, Spain.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized clinical records from a major teaching hospital's psychiatric ED.
  • Included data from October 2018 to April 2021.
  • Employed interrupted time-series analyses to compare pre- and post-pandemic trends.

Main Results:

  • A total of 663 pediatric patients were included in the study.
  • March 2020 saw a significant decrease of -12.8 monthly mental health ED visits.
  • An increasing trend of 3.4 additional monthly visits was observed after April 2020.

Conclusions:

  • Paediatric psychiatric ED visits increased post-pandemic onset, with a notable rise in suicide-related visits.
  • The ED remains vital for managing acute pediatric mental health crises.
  • Enhanced access to mental healthcare for youth during and after the pandemic is crucial.
Abstract

Keywords:
COVID-19paediatric mental healthpsychiatric urgencysuicide

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