Utilization of physician mental health services by birthing parents with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based, repeated cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and nonpharmaceutical interventions that reduced the spread of infection had impacts on social interaction, schooling and employment. Concerns have been raised about the impact of these disruptions on the mental health of high-risk groups, including birthing parents of young children.

Methods

This population-based, repeated cross-sectional study used health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, to link children to birth parents and to measure subsequent mental health visits of birthing parents of younger (age 0-5 yr) and school-aged (6-12 yr) children. We used a repeated cross-sectional study design to estimate expected rates for visits to physicians for mental health diagnoses, based on prepandemic trends (March 2016-February 2020), a

SUBMITTER: Moin JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10699288 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature