Youth mental health care use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, Canada: an interrupted time series, population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, youth had rising mental health needs and changes in service accessibility. Our study investigated changes in use of mental health care services for Canadian youth in Alberta before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also investigated how youth utilization patterns differed for subgroups based on social factors (i.e., age, gender, socioeconomic status, and geography) previously associated with health care access.

Methods

We used cross-sectional population-based data from Alberta, Canada to understand youth (15-24 year) mental health care use from 2018/19 to 2021/22. We performed interrupted time series design, segmented regression modeling on type of mental health care use (i.e., general physician, psychiatrist, emergency room, and h

SUBMITTER: Russell MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11317004 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature