National Referral and Treatment Patterns Among Mental Health Pediatric Primary Care Visits

• Published in: Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 86 - 93
• Main Authors: Peterson, Emma L., Ndumele, Chima D., Busch, Susan H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Bipolar disorder; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Psychology; Combined Modality Therapy; Comorbidity; Counseling - methods; Female; Health Administration; Health Informatics; Humans; Infant; Logistic Models; Male; Medical referrals; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental health; Mental health care; Mental health services; Mental Health Services - statistics & numerical data; Metropolitan areas; Original Article; Pediatrics; Practice Patterns, Physicians; Primary care; Primary Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Psychiatry; Public Health; Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data; Referrals; Residence Characteristics; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; United States; Visits; United States; Referral; Specialty care; Mental health
• ISSN: 0894-587X; 1573-3289
• DOI: 10.1007/s10488-019-00972-9

The current study explored factors that predict referral from pediatric primary care to mental health specialty care among a nationally representative sample of visits (N = 2056). Results of a logistic regression indicated that patient visits that included rarer/serious diagnoses (e.g., bipolar disorder) were more likely to receive a referral in comparison to those with ADHD (OR = 4.75,
SE
 = 1.37). Other characteristics associated with increased likelihood of referral were those with comorbid mental health conditions (OR = 2.20,
SE
 = 0.84) and those from a metropolitan area (OR = 2.23,
SE
 = 0.75). Implications are discussed.