COVID-19 Pandemic Curtails Children Mental Health Service

A new study shows the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health services for children and young ones.

The large reductions in mental service use at the beginning of the pandemic is shown in a study published in the journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on psychiatric symptoms of children and young people, but many psychiatric services have been disrupted. It is unclear how service use, self-harm, and suicide have changed since the pandemic started.

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‘Unmet mental health needs or delays inaccessibility to appropriate care are a significant public health concern.’

To gain timely information, a systematic review focused on studies based on administrative data that compared psychiatric service use, self-harm, and suicide before and during the pandemic among children and young people.

The study included peer-reviewed studies that compared administrative data for psychiatric service use, self-harm, and suicide during and before the COVID-19 pandemic. The review included 18 studies with data from 19 countries published from 1 January 2020 to 22 March 2021.

Increased psychiatric symptoms among children and young people during the pandemic also raise questions on the role of treatment delays in how mental health issues have progressed during the pandemic.

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However, there were also some increases. Suicide rate and the number of ED visits due to suicide attempts have increased, and there was an increase in the number of treatment sessions in a service that provided telemedicine.

Many countries observed this pattern for different psychiatric service use outcomes. These findings have three public health significance.

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First, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for active plans on reassuring children’s and young people’s access to services as the current pandemic proceeds and future pandemics and crises are possible.

Second, the pandemic has challenged traditional face-to-face services, but it has also highlighted the potential of integrating technological advances into psychiatric services.

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Third, changes in the way that children and young people use services may also modify traditional help-seeking models. Further research is needed on how to improve the efficient use of psychiatric services among children and young people and how these services can be maintained.

Source-Medindia