Lost in Transition: The Journey from Pediatric to Adult Care for Youth with Mental Health Conditions
New Research Highlights Lack of Follow-up Care for Youth and Young Adults after Hospitalization or ER visit for Mental Health
Date Posted: Wednesday, October 12, 2022​
A joint study between iSPARC and UMass Chan researchers Julie Hugunin, B.S. & Ph.D. candidate, Maryann Davis, Ph.D., Celine Larkin, Ph.D., Jonggyu Baek, Ph.D., Brian Skehan, M.D., Ph.D., and Kate L. Lapane, Ph.D., was released online on October 12, 2022, in the American Psychiatric Association journal Psychiatric Services.
In the study of more than 100,000 emergency room visits and 95,000 mental health hospitalizations of youth and young adults with private insurance, less than half who visited the emergency room had follow-up care within 30 days and two-thirds of those hospitalized received follow-up care within that same time period.
“The U.S. Surgeon General has declared the state of children and youth mental health a crisis, and this Psychiatric Services study, unfortunately, bears out that declaration,” said Psychiatric Services Editor Lisa Dixon, M.D. “Follow-up care is extremely important after a serious psychiatric emergency that requires the use of a hospital or ER. The fact that in the current system it just isn’t happening is extremely worrisome and calls for increased investment in mental health and further study to understand its causes.”
Read the full Press Release from the APA
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Read the full Journal Article in the Journal of Psychiatric Services Online
