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Objective: To explore parental perceptions of psychosocial screening in the paediatric emergency department and identify post-screening barriers to accessing mental health care. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study during the 30-day follow-up period of a larger prospective cohort study. Eligible youth and their accompanying parent/guardian first completed psychosocial self/proxy-screening using the MyHEARTSMAP tool and then received a standardized clinical mental health assessment. If the MyHEARTSMAP assessment provided youth with mental health resources recommendations, their parents were invited to a follow-up session. Thirty days (±5 days) after their ED visit, parents participated in a virtual interview to reflect and share their attitudes, perceptions and thoughts around the screening and mental health care-seeking process. Results: Of the 171 participants who received resource recommendations during their ED visit, 124 parents (72.5%; 95% CI 65.2–79.1%) completed the follow-up interview. Most parents endorsed positive perceptions of the screening process, describing it as an 'eye-opening' process that 'sparked conversation'. Most participants (74.2%; 95% CI 65.6–81.6) agreed with the resource recommendations they received. In terms of resources-seeking, only 41 participants (33.1%; 95% CI 24.9–42.1) attempted to access recommended supports. Families generally felt identified concerns were mild and 'not serious enough' to warrant resource-seeking, though many expressed an intention to seek care if concerns escalated. Conclusion: Perceptions of psychosocial screening in the ED were favourable and encouraging among participating parents of youth screened positive for psychosocial issues. Despite positive attitudes, only a fraction of the families invited to follow-up attempted to access care. Mental health may be perceived as low priority for many families, signifying the need for improved education and awareness building on the importance of early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate clinical utility and feasibility of universal somatization screening in the pediatric emergency department (ED) using a standardized approach of (1) identifying potential somatizing symptoms within the ED, (2) introducing these patients and their caregivers to the concept of the 'mind-body connection', (3) corroborating the likelihood of a somatization diagnosis via brief psychiatric assessment, and (4) inviting families to a psychoeducational follow-up session. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to carry out this approach with families visiting a pediatric ED. Our primary outcome of screening utility was measured as the proportion of youth who screened positive for somatization by the ED clinician. Our secondary outcome of screening feasibility was measured as the proportion of patients with positives who (1) agreed to meet with the study psychiatrist, (2) consented to an ED psychiatric assessment, (3) were assessed by the study psychiatrist as likely experiencing somatization, and (4) were invited for follow-up and attended. Results: Of the 344 screened patients, 27 (7.8%) screened positive for somatization. Of these, 25 (92.6%) families verbally consented to meet the study psychiatrist to learn about the mind-body connection, and 21 (77.8%) consented to further psychiatric assessment. Upon assessment, the somatization likelihood was supported for all 21 youth. Twenty families were invited to follow-up and ultimately two (10%) attended. Conclusions: Somatization can be detected through ED-based universal screening. Few families attended psychoeducational follow-up. Further research is needed to determine appropriate ED-initiated pediatric somatization intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]