| Many
children screen positively for mental illness in Emergency Department
study An American team has found that three of every four children whose mothers bring them to a pediatric emergency department for non-urgent complaints screen positive for mental illness, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies (U.S.). The study has important implications for ensuring that children and their families do not fall through the mental healthcare safety net, according to Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan, MD, the study's main author. Screening positive for a mental health disorder does not necessarily mean that these children have a mental illness but that they are "at high risk of serious mental health issues," says Dr. Grupp-Phelan. "The pediatric emergency department may be the only interaction mothers have with a health care provider. If we do not take advantage of the visit to identify and treat families with mental health problems, these children may fall through the cracks." Dr. Grupp-Phelan found that 25 percent of children screened positive for four or more mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health disorders. In addition, 18 percent of mothers screened positive for either anxiety or depression. Among these mothers, 92 percent of their children screened positive for a mental health disorder, putting them "at even a greater risk for a positive screen and multiple mental disorders," says Dr. Grupp-Phelan. To conduct the study,
Dr. Grupp-Phelan administered a validated mental health screening
test over a two-year period to 600 mothers and their children who
visited her University children's emergency department for non-urgent
complaints. In a previous study, Dr. Grupp-Phelan administered a
mental-health screening test only to mothers and found that a large
percentage of mothers with mental illness find it difficult to take
care of their children. |