Trends in Acute Care Use for Mental Health Conditions Among Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Understanding how children's utilization of acute mental health care changed during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical for directing resources.

Objective

To examine youth acute mental health care use (emergency department [ED], boarding, and subsequent inpatient care) during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional analysis of national, deidentified commercial health insurance claims of youth mental health ED and hospital care took place between March 2019 and February 2022. Among 4.1 million commercial insurance enrollees aged 5 to 17 years, 17 614 and 16 815 youth had at least 1 mental health ED visit in the baseline year (March 2019-February 2020) and pandemic year 2 (March 2021-February 2022), respe

SUBMITTER: Overhage L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10339224 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature