Introduction
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic including stay at home restrictions, school closures, economic decline, and societal distress has affected pediatric mental health in ways studies have yet to discover. There are more children presenting with mental health issues compared to pre-pandemic times. Multiple factors have shown to contribute to the lack of quality care for children experiencing mental health crises in this ongoing pandemic.
Purpose Statement
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the frequency of mental health related presentations to the pediatric emergency department, subsequently resulting in increased delay in transition to inpatient psychiatric treatment
Literature Review
The data base used was Sherrod Library. Key words were pediatric, mental health, pediatric emergency, behavioral health, COVID-19, and pandemic. The studies found hold strong in their sample sizes and methods, although certain age groups were excluded from the research.
Findings
Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, there was an evident rise in pediatric emergency department visits for mental health related issues. As a result of increased patient presentations, limited resources, and staffing shortages - patients in need of psychiatric care have been less likely to receive it, and more likely to experience boarding.
Conclusions
Pediatric mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a need for new interventions and resources to achieve better patient outcomes. The issues discussed in this paper are prevalent in pediatric hospitals across the country. The repercussions of COVID-19 on pediatric patients are not fully understood or researched at this time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:es-conf-1042 |
| Date | 14 April 2022 |
| Creators | Holland, Morgan |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Epsilon Sigma at-Large Research Conference |
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