The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies

• 2023

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• Mohsen Saidinejad; Susan Duffy; Dina Wallin; Jennifer Hoffmann; Madeline Joseph; Jennifer Schieferle Uhlenbrock; Kathleen Brown; Muhammad Waseem; Sally Snow; Madeline Andrew; Alice Kuo; Carmen Sulton; Thomas Chun; Lois Lee
PMID: 37584147DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063255

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About

This policy statement is about managing mental and behavioral health emergencies in children and youth. It describes the increasing visits to emergency departments for issues like suicidal thoughts, self-harm, eating disorders, aggression, and psychosis. Despite the rise in these cases, healthcare systems struggle with limited resources for screening and treatment. Social factors also create disparities in health outcomes. The report gives guidance to doctors on handling these emergencies but does not cover unintentional ingestions or substance use disorders specifically.

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Tags

Focus Areas: Mental Health; Trauma

Audiences: Behavioral Health Professionals; Emergency Managers; EMS Clinicians; Nurses; Physicians

Emergency Management Stage: Preparedness (Prevention / Protection)

Keywords: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Medicine; Emergency Medical Services; Emergency Medicine; Emergency Services, Psychiatric; Mental Health; Mental Health Services; Psychiatry; Triage; Wounds and Injuries; Suicide Prevention; Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Adverse Childhood Experiences

Institutions: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); American College of Emergency Physicians; Emergency Nurses Association (ENA)

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