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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of Pediatric Mental Health Care.
- Source :
-
Academic pediatrics [Acad Pediatr] 2024 Aug; Vol. 24 (6), pp. 987-994. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 05. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Background: Studies suggest increasing mental health care needs among children but limited capacity to meet those needs, potentially leaving some needs unmet. There are no recent national studies examining the receipt of mental health treatment among children. We sought to identify the correlates of treatment receipt in a nationally representative sample of children in the United States.<br />Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 National Health Interview Survey. Parents reported on their child's sociodemographic characteristics, general health care engagement, mental health using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and whether their child received therapy or medication in the prior year. Weighted logistic regressions tested associations among child characteristics and receipt of mental health treatment while controlling for parental report of child mental health symptoms.<br />Results: Among 7168 children surveyed, 1044 (15%) received mental health treatment, equating to over 7 million US children. Hispanic children (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.46 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-0.62]) and non-Hispanic Black children (AOR: 0.35 [95% CI: 0.23-0.54]) had lower odds of receiving treatment compared to non-Hispanic White children, controlling for mental health symptoms. Children with a well-child visit in the last year (AOR: 2.05 [95% CI: 1.20-3.52]) and whose usual place of care was a doctor's office (AOR 2.10 [95% CI: 1.33-3.34]) had higher odds of treatment receipt.<br />Conclusions: Racially and ethnically minoritized children and those without primary care access have disproportionately low levels of receipt of mental health treatment. Interventions to meet the needs of these groups should be prioritized to reduce mental health disparities.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2024 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Humans
Child
Male
Female
United States
Cross-Sectional Studies
Adolescent
Child, Preschool
Logistic Models
Black or African American statistics & numerical data
Mental Disorders therapy
Mental Disorders ethnology
Ethnicity statistics & numerical data
White People statistics & numerical data
Infant
Health Services Accessibility statistics & numerical data
Odds Ratio
Healthcare Disparities ethnology
Healthcare Disparities statistics & numerical data
Mental Health Services statistics & numerical data
Hispanic or Latino statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1876-2867
- Volume :
- 24
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Academic pediatrics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38320688
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2024.01.024