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The immediate period following psychiatric hospitalization is marked by increased risk for suicide behavior and rehospitalization. Because adolescents commonly return to school settings following hospital discharge, school-related stressors and supports are important considerations for psychiatric treatment and discharge planning. The current study aimed to inform recommendations provided by hospitals to schools to improve school reintegration practices by employing a concurrent, mixed-methods design. Specifically, we: (1) surveyed school professionals (n = 133) in schools varying in resource availability and populations in one southeastern state of the United States about supports and services provided to returning students; and (2) conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of these professionals (n = 19) regarding their perceptions of the hospital to school transition for youth recovering from suicide-related crises. Findings from survey responses indicated that, compared to schools located in urban and suburban areas, schools in rural areas were less likely to have school reintegration protocols for returning students. More generally, however, available interventions and modifications were relatively consistent across rural and urban/suburban schools, schools serving high and low poverty communities, and schools with predominantly white and predominantly ethnic and racial minoritized student bodies. Key themes across interviews signify the importance of communication between stakeholders, the type of information used to develop re-entry plans, available school-based services for returning youth, and the need to mitigate stigma associated with mental health crises. Findings inform recommendations that can be provided by hospitals to schools to support adolescent recovery as they return to school following psychiatric hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to earthquake has previously been associated with adverse mental health outcomes, however, evidence is limited among youth in resource-limited settings. This study explored the association of retrospective extent of exposure on current day depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among 125 youth attending a college in Kathmandu, Nepal. A self-administered survey including socio-demographic variables, scale for earthquake exposure and Nepali language validated standardized scales for depressive and PTSD symptoms was used. Prevalence estimates for depressive symptoms was 43.2% and PTSD symptoms was 19.2%. For each increasing unit of the extent of earthquake exposure, the odds of having depressive symptoms increased by a factor of 1.26 (p = 0.001) and PTSD symptoms increased by a factor of 1.26 (p = 0.002). Being in a complicated romantic relationship increased the odds of both depressive symptoms and PTSD symptoms. Exposure to earthquake is an important factor to consider while assessing depressive and PTSD symptoms among youth earthquake survivors in Kathmandu. It is important that programs or policies aimed at youth mental health concurrently address disaster exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study was to assess the youth mental health after the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) occurred in China two weeks later, and to investigate factors of mental health among youth groups. A cross-sectional study was conducted two weeks after the occurrence of COVID-19 in China. A total of 584 youth enrolled in this study and completed the question about cognitive status of COVID-19, the General Health Questionnaire(GHQ-12), the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and the Negative coping styles scale. Univariate analysis and univariate logistic regression were used to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on youth mental health. The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that nearly 40.4% the sampled youth were found to be prone to psychological problems and 14.4% the sampled youth with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Univariate logistic regression revealed that youth mental health was significantly related to being less educated (OR = 8.71, 95%CI:1.97–38.43), being the enterprise employee (OR = 2.36, 95%CI:1.09–5.09), suffering from the PTSD symptom (OR = 1.05, 95%CI:1.03–1.07) and using negative coping styles (OR = 1.03, 95%CI:1.00–1.07). Results of this study suggest that nearly 40.4% of the youth group had a tendency to have psychological problems. Thus, this was a remarkable evidence that infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, may have an immense influence on youth mental health. Therefor, local governments should develop effective psychological interventions for youth groups, moreover, it is important to consider the educational level and occupation of the youth during the interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The youth health indicator (YHI) program was developed to improve health and reduce risk behaviors for youth treated in clinic and day treatment psychiatric settings. This study examined implementation of the YHI program and factors associated with BMI % change for youth participating in the program. Outpatient facilities which implemented the YHI program were surveyed (N = 10) and lessons learned were summarized. Mixed random effects repeated measures analysis was used to examine BMI % trajectory for youth admitted during 2010-2014 with BMI % measured (N = 6403). Treatment settings indicated a variety of strategies to undertake and sustain the YHI program. Factors associated with BMI % change over time were identified. The YHI program resulted in the development of a wide variety of programmatic innovations targeted at improving youth health. Continued work needs to be done to improve the health outcomes for youth in these treatment settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]