Growing number of young people are developing mental health issues: Study
| Mar 20, 2019, 22:00 IST
Researchers reveal that a growing number of young people are visiting emergency rooms in the US with mental health issues.
Data reveals one in 10 children, young adults and teens in the US have psychiatric disorders. However, most of them do not receive treatment. “While I am glad the ED ( emergency department) is a 24/7 resource, there is a lack of psychiatric expertise in this setting,” lead study author Luther Kalb, a researcher at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, told a news portal. Adding, “Using the ED as psychiatric crisis centre needs to change."
"We need to find new ways to get to people in times of need and where they are at, rather than rely on the ED," he further went on to explain.
“The take-home message for parents is to understand that mental health problems are common in otherwise healthy youth and in some children are the result of chronic stressors, particularly anxiety and depression,”Dr Susan Duffy, a professor at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a pediatric emergency physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, told a news portal. Adding, “Parents should be aware that suicidal thoughts are common in youth and often go unreported unless directly questioned and that a significant proportion of youth who successfully complete suicide have not received mental health care.”
Dr Duffy also wants parents to understand the warning signs before the condition gets worse in their children.
Data reveals one in 10 children, young adults and teens in the US have psychiatric disorders. However, most of them do not receive treatment. “While I am glad the ED ( emergency department) is a 24/7 resource, there is a lack of psychiatric expertise in this setting,” lead study author Luther Kalb, a researcher at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, told a news portal. Adding, “Using the ED as psychiatric crisis centre needs to change."
"We need to find new ways to get to people in times of need and where they are at, rather than rely on the ED," he further went on to explain.
“The take-home message for parents is to understand that mental health problems are common in otherwise healthy youth and in some children are the result of chronic stressors, particularly anxiety and depression,”Dr Susan Duffy, a professor at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a pediatric emergency physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, told a news portal. Adding, “Parents should be aware that suicidal thoughts are common in youth and often go unreported unless directly questioned and that a significant proportion of youth who successfully complete suicide have not received mental health care.”
Dr Duffy also wants parents to understand the warning signs before the condition gets worse in their children.