Dartmouth study offers new details on pediatric mental health boarding
2020 OCT 13 (NewsRx) -- By a
Boarding refers to the practice of admitting children and adolescents--who are in need of inpatient mental health treatment--to emergency departments or inpatient medical units while they wait for a psychiatric bed to become available in the hospital.
Behavioral and mental health disorders are the most common and costly chronic diseases that affect children and adolescents. Approximately one in six
“Although mental health boarding is widely recognized as a major health system challenge, its processes, outcomes, and risk factors had not previously been systematically reviewed,” explains co-author
To this end, the research team conducted a comprehensive review of 222 studies to describe frequencies, durations, processes, outcomes, and/or risk factors associated with youth mental health boarding in the
The investigators found that among young patients needing inpatient psychiatric care, 23 to 58 percent were boarded in hospital emergency departments while 26 to 49 percent were boarded on inpatient medical units. Boarding durations ranged on average from five to 41 hours in emergency departments and two to three days in inpatient units. Key risk factors for children included being younger in age, having suicidal or homicidal thoughts, and seeking care at hospitals during non-summer months.
In sum, the research team found that pediatric mental health boarding is prevalent and understudied. “It’s a vital issue in youth mental healthcare today, experienced by at least 40,000 to 66,000 youth admitted to hospitals each year,” says The Dartmouth Institute’s
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