ArticleHealth services research2026
Association of School-Based Health Center Availability With Child Mental Health Outcomes.
Article in Health services research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Association of School-Based Health Center Availability With Child Mental Health Outcomes.Health services research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate changes in student mental health outcomes after the adoption of a school-based health center (SBHC). STUDY SETTING/
designUsing a retrospective, quasi-experimental design, this study compared changes in mental health diagnoses and healthcare utilization among students in school districts that adopted an SBHC to students in districts that did not adopt an SBHC, before and after adoption. A stacked difference-in-differences estimator was used to address the staggered adoption of SBHCs and the potential for heterogeneous treatment effects. Health conditions (measured via diagnosis codes) and health care use (measured via procedure codes and place-of-service codes) were obtained from Medicaid inpatient, outpatient, physician, and pharmacy claims. DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTIC SAMPLE: Information on the availability of SBHCs was obtained via census of 142 of Tennessee's 147 public school districts. Using secondary data from administrative health and education records, we probabilistically linked Tennessee students enrolled in Medicaid to public-school records from 2006 to 2021. We linked approximately 70% of students enrolled in a Tennessee public school to Medicaid records. PRINCIPAL
findingsWe identified 41 districts with an SBHC between 2007 and 2019. After the adoption of an SBHC, districts with an SBHC had a 0.5 (95% CI: -0.9, -0.2) percentage point decline in the proportion of students with any mental health diagnosis, which corresponds to a 6.6% relative decline. This was driven by a decrease in the diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We also found a significant increase in outpatient mental health care visits and a decrease in emergency department visits for mental health conditions after the adoption of an SBHC.
conclusionsSBHCs are one mechanism through which the mental health needs of school-aged children are met. Timely and adequate resources are needed to ensure SBHCs can sustain their services in this time of need.
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