Improving Access to Mental Health Care among Children who Receive Subspecialist Care.

IF 1.7 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Maternal and Child Health Journal Pub Date : 2025-07-01 Epub Date: 2025-06-26 DOI:10.1007/s10995-025-04116-4

Kristin Hittle Gigli, Genevieve Graaf

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN) have high rates of unmet health care need, particularly mental health. To increase access to mental health care, policymakers support pediatric subspecialists providing mental health care. Yet it is unclear how great the need for this role might be. This study described mental health care needs among CYSHCN who needed pediatric subspeciality care, and rates at which needs go unmet.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 20,335 CYSHCN who needed subspecialist care from 2016 to 2021 using pooled National Survey of Children's Health data. Analysis described rates of mental health care need and unmet need.

Results: 40% (N = 8,538) of CYSHCN who needed subspecialist care had mental health care needs. CYSHCN receiving care from a specialist had a significantly lower unmet need for mental health care, compared to those who did not receive specialist care (12.5% vs. 43.5%). Receiving subspecialist care was associated with a 24-percentage point decrease in unmet mental health need.

Conclusions for practice: CYSHCN who receive subspecialist care have high rates of mental health care need, most need is met. Future work should explore strategies to support subspecialists in the provision of holistic, physical, and mental, health care without assuming roles as mental health care providers.

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改善接受专科护理的儿童获得精神保健的机会。

目标：有特殊保健需求的儿童和青年（CYSHCN）的保健需求未得到满足的比例很高，特别是心理健康。为了增加获得精神卫生保健的机会，政策制定者支持儿科专科医生提供精神卫生保健。然而，目前尚不清楚对这一角色的需求有多大。本研究描述了CYSHCN中需要儿科亚专科护理的心理卫生保健需求，以及需求未得到满足的比率。方法：我们使用汇总的全国儿童健康调查数据，对2016年至2021年期间需要亚专科护理的20,335名CYSHCN进行了回顾性队列研究。分析描述了精神卫生保健需求和未满足需求的比率。结果：40% （N = 8538）需要亚专科护理的CYSHCN有精神卫生保健需求。与未接受专科护理的青少年相比，接受专科护理的青少年未满足的精神卫生保健需求显著降低（12.5%对43.5%）。接受亚专科护理与未满足的心理健康需求减少24%有关。实践结论：接受亚专科护理的青少年心理健康护理需求比例高，大部分需求得到满足。未来的工作应探索策略，以支持亚专科医生在不承担精神卫生保健提供者角色的情况下提供全面的身体和精神卫生保健。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Maternal and Child Health Journal PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

4.30%

发文量

271

期刊介绍： Maternal and Child Health Journal is the first exclusive forum to advance the scientific and professional knowledge base of the maternal and child health (MCH) field. This bimonthly provides peer-reviewed papers addressing the following areas of MCH practice, policy, and research: MCH epidemiology, demography, and health status assessment Innovative MCH service initiatives Implementation of MCH programs MCH policy analysis and advocacy MCH professional development. Exploring the full spectrum of the MCH field, Maternal and Child Health Journal is an important tool for practitioners as well as academics in public health, obstetrics, gynecology, prenatal medicine, pediatrics, and neonatology. Sponsors include the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health (ATMCH), and CityMatCH.