Household food insecurity and health service use for mental and substance use disorders among children and adolescents in Ontario, Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Food insecurity is a serious public health problem and is linked to the mental health of children and adolescents; however, its relationship with mental health service use is unknown. We sought to estimate the association between household food insecurity and contact with health services for mental or substance use disorders among children and adolescents in Ontario, Canada.

Methods

We used health administrative data, linked to 5 waves of the Canadian Community Health Survey, to identify children and adolescents (aged 1-17 yr) who had a household response to the Household Food Security Survey Module. We identified contacts with outpatient and acute care services for mental or substance use disorders in the year before survey completion using administrative data. W

SUBMITTER: Anderson KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10365855 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature