Feasibility of Supportive Telephone Outreach for Caregivers after Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies

Youth mental health emergencies are an increasingly prevalent problem, with many families experiencing barriers to accessing mental health resources after a hospital visit for a mental health emergency. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of a post-discharge telephone contact pilot program designed to assist caregivers of youths experiencing mental health emergencies in navigating these resources. The pilot initiative was retrospectively evaluated after being integrated into routine clinical care across inpatient, ambulatory, and emergency settings within a children's hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, from August 2022 to August 2023. The primary outcomes evaluated included: (1) the successful contact of caregivers, (2) the establishment of an initial mental health appointment for their child after a mental health emergency, and (3) the solicitation of additional assistance. Over the course of one year, a dedicated social worker, contributing 10 h per week, contacted nearly 1,000 caregivers. The program successfully reached 55% of caregivers with only one follow-up attempt and provided additional assistance to 21% of those engaged. This pilot program demonstrated the feasibility of multilingual caregiver outreach across demographic groups using existing clinical infrastructure to help families navigate post-discharge mental health care. The study indicates that such a program can be successfully implemented within existing infrastructure using minimal additional resources for outreach while identifying ongoing caregiver support needs following pediatric mental health emergencies.