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Six-Month Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Service Contacts among Children and Youth in Ontario: Evidence from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To present the 6-month prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of mental disorders and mental health-related service contacts in a sample of children (4 to 11 years) and youth (12 to 17 years) in Ontario. METHODS:The 2014 Ontario Child Health Study is a provincially representative survey of 6537 families with children aged 4 to 17 years in Ontario. DSM-IV-TR mental disorders were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID) and included mood (major depressive episode), anxiety (generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, specific phobia), and behaviour disorders (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder).The MINI-KID was administered independently to the primary caregiver and youth aged 12 to 17 years in the family's home. RESULTS:Past 6-month prevalence of any mental disorder ranged from 18.2% to 21.8% depending on age and informant. Behaviour disorders were the most common among children, and anxiety disorders were the most common among youth. Among children and youth with a parent-identified mental disorder, 25.6% of children and 33.7% of youth had contact with a mental health provider. However, 60% had contact with one or more of the providers or service settings assessed, most often through schools. CONCLUSIONS:Between 18% and 22% of children and youth in Ontario met criteria for a mental disorder but less than one-third had contact with a mental health provider. These findings provide support for strengthening prevention and early intervention efforts and enhancing service capacity to meet the mental health needs of children and youth in Ontario.

SUBMITTER: Georgiades K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6463361 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Six-Month Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Service Contacts among Children and Youth in Ontario: Evidence from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.

Georgiades Katholiki K Duncan Laura L Wang Li L Comeau Jinette J Boyle Michael H MH

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie 20190401 4

<h4>Objectives</h4>To present the 6-month prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of mental disorders and mental health-related service contacts in a sample of children (4 to 11 years) and youth (12 to 17 years) in Ontario.<h4>Methods</h4>The 2014 Ontario Child Health Study is a provincially representative survey of 6537 families with children aged 4 to 17 years in Ontario. DSM-IV-TR mental disorders were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adoles ...[more]

PMID: 30978138

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Project description:Emerging studies across the globe are reporting the impact of COVID-19 and its related virus containment measures, such as school closures and social distancing, on the mental health presentations and service utilization of children and youth during the early stages of lockdowns in their respective countries. However, there remains a need for studies which examine the impact of COVID-19 on children and youth's mental health needs and service utilization across multiple waves of the pandemic. The present study used data from 35,162 interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) assessments across 53 participating mental health agencies in Ontario, Canada, to assess the mental health presentations and referral trends of children and youth across the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the province. Wave 1 consisted of data from March to June 2020, with Wave 2 consisting of data from September 2020 to January 2021. Data from each wave were compared to each other and to the equivalent period one year prior. While assessment volumes declined during both pandemic waves, during the second wave, child and youth assessments in low-income neighborhoods declined more than those within high-income neighborhoods. There were changes in family stressors noted in both waves. Notably, the proportion of children exposed to domestic violence and recent parental stressors increased in both waves of the pandemic, whereas there were decreases noted in the proportion of parents expressing feelings of distress, anger, or depression and reporting recent family involvement with child protection services. When comparing the two waves, while depressive symptoms and recent self-injurious attempts were more prevalent in the second wave of the pandemic when compared to the first, a decrease was noted in the prevalence of disruptive/aggressive behaviors and risk of injury to others from Wave 1 to Wave 2. These findings highlight the multifaceted impact of multiple pandemic waves on children and youth's mental health needs and underscore the need for future research into factors impacting children and youth's access to mental health agencies during this time.

Project description:BackgroundTo inform the provision and organization of care, and to improve equitable access to mental health services for children and youth, we must first characterize the children and youth being served, taking into consideration factors related to mental health need. Our objective was to use a population-based survey linked with health administrative data to estimate mental health related contacts and determine socio-demographic correlates, after adjusting for factors related to mental health need.MethodsData from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) were linked at the individual level to health administrative databases from Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). Mental health related service contacts were identified in the 6-months prior to the OCHS survey date. Service contacts with physicians were obtained from health administrative data, and non-physician service contacts from survey data (parent-report).Results21.7% of Ontarian children (4-11 years) and youth (12-17 years) had at least one mental health related contact in the 6-months prior to their OCHS survey date (18.8% non-physician, 8.0% physician, 5.2% both). Children and youth contacting both physician and non-physician services (ref. contact with physician or non-physician services alone) had higher mean symptom ratings of mental disorders across all classes of disorder. After adjusting for total symptom ratings, children and youth with immigrant parent(s) (ref. non-immigrant) (Prevalence Ratio: 0.65, 95% CI 0.55, 0.75) were less likely to have any mental health related service contact.ConclusionsResults indicate that children and youth with the highest mental health symptom ratings are more likely to have contact with multiple providers across sectors. As such, the coordination of care across and within sectors are critical components of mental health related services for children and youth. Our results indicate that the greatest disparities in mental health related service contacts may exist for children and youth with immigrant parent(s) and that targeted outreach efforts are required to reduce barriers to care and improve equitable access to mental health related services for children and youth in Ontario.

Dataset Information

Six-Month Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Service Contacts among Children and Youth in Ontario: Evidence from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.

Publications

Six-Month Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Service Contacts among Children and Youth in Ontario: Evidence from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.

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