ArticleAcademic pediatrics
Mental Health Emergency Department Visits by Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in Academic pediatrics. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Suicidality and self-harm in adolescents before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of paediatric emergency department visits for attempted suicide, self-harm, and suicidal ideation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The lancet. Psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Mental health and healthcare use during COVID-19 among neurodivergent youth and youth with pre-existing psychiatric disorders: A systematic review.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Predictive factors for psychotropic medication prescription in child and adolescent psychiatric emergency care: a machine learning approach using a health data warehouse.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Trends in Pediatric Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits During the School Year and School Breaks.The Journal of school health · 2026Article
- Changes in pediatric service utilization for depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Transforming Mental Health Service Delivery in Schools: Recommendations for Implementation of a Cross-System Collaborative Approach.Administration and policy in mental health · 2026Article
- Self-reported changes in adolescent mental health, deliberate self-harm, substance use, and help-seeking behavior before and after the COVID-19 pandemic - A Finnish time-trend study.Child and adolescent mental health · 2026Article
- Geographic variation and neighbourhood correlates of mental health-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits in children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Mental Health Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations Among Alabama Publicly Insured Youth During COVID-19.Psychiatric research and clinical practice · 2026Article
- Patterns and characteristics of visits to psychiatric emergency departments: a three-year data study in China.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Clinical characteristics and prevalence of adolescent self-harm before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: retrospective cross-sectional database study.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- Child Well-Being and Family Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Child: care, health and development · 2025Article
- Prehospital Restraint Use in Pediatric Patients With Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.Pediatric emergency care · 2025Article
- Emergency Department Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Patients Transported by Emergency Medical Services and Police: Trends and Interventions.Academic pediatrics · 2024Article
- COVID-19 and Youth Mental Health Disparities: Intersectional Trends in Depression, Anxiety and Suicide Risk-Related Diagnoses.Academic pediatrics · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergencies at the Tübingen University Hospital: Analyzing Trends, Diagnoses, and Contributing Factors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Assessing service usage and protective factors in a pediatric psychiatry clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- COVID-19 Modifications in Public Home- and Community-Based Services for Children with Mental Health Needs.Administration and policy in mental health · 2024Article
- Review of pediatric emergency care and the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo describe pediatric mental health emergency department (ED) visit rates and visit characteristics before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of ED visits by children 5-17 years old with a primary mental health diagnosis from March 2018 to February 2021 at a 10-hospital health system and a children's hospital in the Chicago area. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics of children with mental health ED visits before and during the pandemic. We conducted an interrupted time series analysis to determine changes in visit rates.
resultsWe identified 8,127 pediatric mental health ED visits (58.5% female, 54.3% White, Not Hispanic/Latino and 42.4% age 13-15). During the pandemic, visits for suicide or self-injury increased 6.69% (95% CI 4.73, 8.65), and visits for disruptive, impulse control, conduct disorders increased 1.94% (95% CI 0.85, 3.03). Mental health ED visits by children with existing mental health diagnoses increased 2.29% (95% CI 0.34, 4.25). Mental health ED visits that resulted in medical admission increased 4.32% (95% CI 3.11, 5.53). The proportion of mental health ED visits at community hospitals increased by 5.49% (95% CI 3.31, 7.67). Mental health ED visit rates increased at the onset of the pandemic (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.27, 95% CI 1.06, 1.50), followed by a monthly increase thereafter (aIRR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02, 1.06).
conclusionMental health ED visit rates by children increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in mental health ED visit characteristics during the pandemic may inform interventions to improve children's mental health.
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