Change in Travel Distance for Pediatric Mental Health Admissions in Illinois, 2016 to 2024.

IF 2.8 3区医学 Q1 PEDIATRICS

Academic Pediatrics Pub Date : 2026-09-20 DOI:10.1016/j.acap.2026.103450

Alexandria Vangelatos, Emily Lynott, Jennifer Hoffmann, Anna M Cushing, Joe Feinglass

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: This study analyzes changes in distance travelled by Illinois youth ages 5-17 between 2016 and 2024 for mental health hospitalizations at Illinois hospitals.

Methods: We obtained records for admissions with a mental health principal diagnosis in each year. Patient and hospital zip codes were used to estimate distance. We present bivariate and multivariable analyses of change in distance between years by patient and hospital characteristics.

Results: There were 22,516 youth mental health admissions in 2016 to 101 hospitals and 18,316 in 2024 to only 56 hospitals. Hospitalizations of youth who travelled ≥50 miles increased from 15.7% in 2016 to 21.9% in 2024 (p<0.001). Youth who were younger, non-Hispanic White, covered by Medicaid and those from 'downstate' Illinois counties had the longest travel distances. Travel distance ≥50 miles for youth hospitalized for depression increased from 15.4% in 2016 to 23.8% in 2024. As compared to 2016, the adjusted odds of youth having to travel more than 50 or 100 miles in 2024 were 1.76 (95% CI=1.36-2.28) and 2.05 (95%CI=1.30-3.24) respectively.

Discussion: By 2024, more than one in five children traveled ≥50 miles and one in ten traveled ≥100 miles to access mental health hospital care. The odds of travel ≥100 miles more than doubled between 2016 and 2024. The increase in travel distance appears to be related to a large reduction in admissions to community hospitals with a small number of 2016 admissions, with a corresponding trend towards hospitalizations at a small number of specialty behavioral health hospitals.

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2016年至2024年伊利诺斯州儿童心理健康入院的旅行距离变化

目的：本研究分析了2016年至2024年间伊利诺伊州5-17岁青少年在伊利诺伊州医院精神卫生住院期间的旅行距离变化。方法：我们收集了每年以心理健康为主诊断的入院记录。使用患者和医院的邮政编码来估计距离。我们提出了双变量和多变量分析的变化之间的距离年病人和医院的特点。结果：2016年共有101家医院的青少年心理健康入院人数为22516人，2024年仅有56家医院的青少年心理健康入院人数为18316人。旅行≥50英里的青少年住院率从2016年的15.7%增加到2024年的21.9% (p讨论：到2024年，超过五分之一的儿童旅行≥50英里，十分之一的儿童旅行≥100英里获得精神卫生医院护理。2016年至2024年间，旅行≥100英里的几率增加了一倍多。出行距离的增加似乎与2016年入院人数较少的社区医院入院人数大幅减少有关，而在少数专业行为健康医院住院的趋势也相应增加。

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

Academic Pediatrics PEDIATRICS-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

12.90%

发文量

300

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Academic Pediatrics, the official journal of the Academic Pediatric Association, is a peer-reviewed publication whose purpose is to strengthen the research and educational base of academic general pediatrics. The journal provides leadership in pediatric education, research, patient care and advocacy. Content areas include pediatric education, emergency medicine, injury, abuse, behavioral pediatrics, holistic medicine, child health services and health policy,and the environment. The journal provides an active forum for the presentation of pediatric educational research in diverse settings, involving medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing professionals. The journal also emphasizes important research relating to the quality of child health care, health care policy, and the organization of child health services. It also includes systematic reviews of primary care interventions and important methodologic papers to aid research in child health and education.