Authorities and experts are warning the child’s mental health status as he warns that the second year of the pandemic is over and a crisis is occurring.
During the first nine months of 2021, understaffed children’s hospitals were accused of increasing visits to the emergency department for mental health, suicide, and self-harm compared to the same period last year.
At the same time, schools that are already tense with limited resources will return to face-to-face schools this fall, when symptoms of depression and anxiety have increased after COVID-19 turned the world over. Therefore, the need for mental health support is increasing. ..
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology (AACAP), and the Association of Children’s Hospitals declared a national emergency for pediatric mental health in October, shortly after the new semester.
However, AACAP President Warren Iu Keane said the situation has been “worse” since its declaration and the scope is “even bigger than we could have imagined.”
“I think we’re at the bottom of the mental health crisis, and I think the COVID-19 pandemic is only making it worse,” he said.
According to the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), children’s hospitals increased their visits to the emergency department by about 38% in mental health cases in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, resulting in suicide and self-harm cases. Increased by about 54%.
CHA President Amy Winpeinite said that in some hospitals, suicides and self-harms have tripled or even quadrupled in the emergency department. In many hospitals, patients stay in emergency beds until 20 to 50 boarders are seen daily or a psychiatric treatment program spot opens, eventually delaying treatment.
“I think the pandemic is really maximizing everyone, so children’s hospitals are no exception,” she said. “We are also very short of staff.”
According to experts, the childhood mental health crisis had already occurred in the decade before the pandemic and “worsened” and “accelerated” the problem.
“We are now looking forward to the next 5 to 10 years. This will escalate, mainly because of what happened to our children, mainly now, in the range of 5 to 18 years.” Winpei Night said.
Nonetheless, Alisha Thompson, clinical director of the Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine unit, pointed out that action is also needed to address the current problem.
“There’s a lot we can do to put out the fire in one, five, and ten years. It’s really exciting and needs to be done right now,” she said. “And in reality, they take time. They aren’t going to deal with the current fire, so we’re working on all of this for the mental health of young people, so how to do both You have to think about it. “
The two months of record visits to Seattle Children’s Hospital’s most emergency department mental health were in October and November this year, with more than 360 and 380 patients, respectively. In total, the unit has 41 beds for inpatient care.
December figures haven’t been finalized, but are “matching” the past two months, but mental health emergency visits are generally declining during the holiday season, according to a hospital spokesperson.
“On the other hand, I think more attention is being paid to the mental health needs of young people than I have ever seen, which makes me feel hopeful,” Thompson said. “Still, I think people really don’t really realize what the crisis is.”
The Biden administration has been calling on the surgeon general to pay more attention to the mental health of young people in recent weeks. Vivek Mercy
Vivek MurthyHillicon Valley — Biden’s False Information Warning Biden: “Dangerous False Information” on Social Media, TV Hill’s Morning Report That Agitates Vivek Hesitation-Presented by Charter Communications-Meadows was despised.Biden isn’t moving Manchin more In December, he issued a rare recommendation to warn of an impending mental health emergency among young people.
“It would be a tragedy if we could defeat one public health crisis and grow another in its place,” he wrote in his recommendation.
Extensive death and illness over the last two years have affected the emotional state of children in the country. According to a survey released in October, more than 120,000 children lost their primary caregivers and an additional 22,000 endured the deaths of their secondary caregivers during the pandemic.
Due to the unbalanced impact of the pandemic on the minority community, AACAP’s Ng said the results were even more “difficult” for colored children.
The resulting overall psychological sacrifice to the child is putting pressure not only on the hospital, but also on the child’s psychiatrist and psychologist who are facing the overwhelming demand for appointments and assistance.
“I don’t think I’ve been so busy as a child psychiatrist’s mental health provider for so long. No one can escape it and work in the field,” Ng said.
“Access to care is an important issue as we are not designed and / or constructed to address and think about such pandemics of mental health issues in children as well as adults,” he adds. I did.
Judy Steer, Head of Health and Wellness at Framingham Public Schools in Massachusetts, said her district is dealing with an invisible “level of escalation of behavior” and the burden is also on the school. It extends.
She said this included depression, anxiety, increased suicidal tendencies in middle and high school students, and “excessive” behavioral concerns in young students.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like the mental health problems our students are experiencing after I’ve been in a position for nearly 15 years,” she said. “It’s tragic, it’s challenging, and it’s exhausted.”
“We can’t keep this up and our kids are suffering,” she added.
Advocates and professionals are seeking more support and awareness from both people suffering from mental illness and behavioral health professionals. These requirements extend to prioritizing hospital capacity building, integrating mental health in schools, and improving recruitment and retention of mental health workers.
“In my opinion, it’s already another pandemic and I think it’s going to get worse. We need to do something about it,” said Thompson of the Seattle Children’s Hospital.
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