Kids ER visits for mental-health concerns increase during pandemic

Suffer the little children –

November 13, 2020 – “Many mental disorders commence in childhood, and mental health concerns in these age groups might be exacerbated by stress related to the pandemic and abrupt disruptions to daily life associated with mitigation efforts, including anxiety about illness, social isolation, and interrupted connectedness to school,” the authors wrote. “Many mental disorders commence in childhood, and mental health concerns in these age groups might be exacerbated by stress related to the pandemic and abrupt disruptions to daily life associated with mitigation efforts, including anxiety about illness, social isolation, and interrupted connectedness to school,” the authors wrote.

The analysis’s findings, they added, “demonstrate continued need for mental health care for children during the pandemic and highlight the importance of expanding mental health services” such as telehealth and mental-health apps. COVID-19 restrictions have also reduced or changed children’s access to mental-health services that are normally available to them through schools and other community entities, the report said, and might lead to greater reliance on emergency-department services “for both routine and crisis treatment.”The analysis’s findings, they added, “demonstrate continued need for mental health care for children during the pandemic and highlight the importance of expanding mental health services” such as telehealth and mental-health apps.

COVID-19 restrictions have also reduced or changed children’s access to mental-health services that are normally available to them through schools and other community entities, the report said, and might lead to greater reliance on emergency-department services “for both routine and crisis treatment.” But while the overall number of emergency-department visits related to children’s mental health declined during the pandemic, the proportion of such visits increased, the report noted — context that suggests “children’s mental health warranted sufficient concern to visit [emergency departments] during a time when non-emergent ED visits were discouraged.