Examining Patient- and Community-Level Factors Associated with Pediatric Mental Healthcare Access Within a Patient Navigation Program
In 2021, national leaders in the United States declared a “national youth mental health crisis.” Still, only 1-in-4 children receive adequate mental healthcare access. Patient Navigator Programs (PNPs) can improve children’s referral-to-connection to mental health services. We examined patient- and...
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Published in | Community mental health journal Vol. 60; no. 6; pp. 1055 - 1067 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Springer US
01.08.2024
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | In 2021, national leaders in the United States declared a “national youth mental health crisis.” Still, only 1-in-4 children receive adequate mental healthcare access. Patient Navigator Programs (PNPs) can improve children’s referral-to-connection to mental health services. We examined patient- and community-level factors associated with pediatric mental healthcare access. Pediatric Support Services (PSS) is a PNP that triages mental and behavioral health referrals within a large health system in a southeastern state. This study analyzes PSS data from September 2017-March 2023 and Child Opportunity Index 2.0 state-normed zip-code level data to assess social drivers of health estimates. Structural equation modeling was conducted between patient- and community-level factors and connection to mental health services. Overall, 62.7% of children connected to mental health services since PSS’ inception. Regardless of SDOH, as children get older, they are more likely to connect with mental health services (β = .053,
SE
= .010,
p
< .001). Children with greater number of referral needs are more likely to connect with mental health services (β = .034,
SE
= .011,
p
= .002). Further, children who live in communities with higher opportunity levels are more likely to connect with mental health services (β = .016,
SE
= .008,
p
= .040), suggesting that children who live in low-income communities experience more barriers to mental healthcare. Social drivers may inform referral practices and tiered navigation support for optimal mental healthcare access among children. Further research should demonstrate the effectiveness of PNPs integrated within healthcare and community-based settings. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0010-3853 1573-2789 1573-2789 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10597-024-01258-7 |