INTRODUCTION: Primary care physicians are the first-line assessors of children's mental health. Previous studies have shown a trend of over-reliance on referrals to child and adolescent psychiatrists and an underutilization of children's mental health agencies. A survey was conducted to a) examine the criteria used by family physicians and primary-care paediatricians in deciding how to refer youth to mental health services, and b) assess interest in developing a set of formal guidelines outlining when to consider referral to child and adolescent psychiatrists and children's mental health agencies. METHOD: A mail-out survey was conducted using elements of the Dillman method. Two regions in Ontario were surveyed, Northwestern Ontario and Middlesex County, allowing for comparison between rural and urban settings. RESULTS: Of the 266 physicians eligible for the study, 116 returned completed surveys, for a response rate of 40%. Awareness and utilization of children's mental health agencies was higher than predicted in both regions. A number of referral trends were identified. A majority of respondents in both regions indicated that they would like a standardized protocol and/or guidelines when referring to both psychiatrists and children mental health agencies. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that, in addition to referring to child and adolescent psychiatrists, the majority of primary care physicians are aware of and utilize children's mental health agencies in Ontario.
INTRODUCTION: Primary care physicians are the first-line assessors of children's mental health. Previous studies have shown a trend of over-reliance on referrals to child and adolescent psychiatrists and an underutilization of children's mental health agencies. A survey was conducted to a) examine the criteria used by family physicians and primary-care paediatricians in deciding how to refer youth to mental health services, and b) assess interest in developing a set of formal guidelines outlining when to consider referral to child and adolescent psychiatrists and children's mental health agencies. METHOD: A mail-out survey was conducted using elements of the Dillman method. Two regions in Ontario were surveyed, Northwestern Ontario and Middlesex County, allowing for comparison between rural and urban settings. RESULTS: Of the 266 physicians eligible for the study, 116 returned completed surveys, for a response rate of 40%. Awareness and utilization of children's mental health agencies was higher than predicted in both regions. A number of referral trends were identified. A majority of respondents in both regions indicated that they would like a standardized protocol and/or guidelines when referring to both psychiatrists and children mental health agencies. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that, in addition to referring to child and adolescent psychiatrists, the majority of primary care physicians are aware of and utilize children's mental health agencies in Ontario.
Entities:
Keywords:
children’s mental health agencies; family physicians; paediatricians; referral patterns; rural primary care physicians
Authors: D R Offord; M H Boyle; P Szatmari; N I Rae-Grant; P S Links; D T Cadman; J A Byles; J W Crawford; H M Blum; C Byrne Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 1987-09
Authors: Anton R Miller; Charlotte Johnston; Anne F Klassen; Stuart Fine; Michael Papsdorf Journal: BMC Fam Pract Date: 2005-03-11 Impact factor: 2.497
Authors: Margaret Steele; Richard Zayed; Brenda Davidson; Neal Stretch; Lucie Nadeau; William Fleisher; Tamison Doey; Helen R Spenser; Sabina Abidi; Geneviève Auclair; Terrence S Callanan; Don Duncan; Gisele Ferguson; Roberta Flynn; Lindsay Hope-Ross; Sarosh Khalid-Khan; Lorraine Lazier; Vitaly Liashko; Harold Lipton; Lara Postl; Kimberly St John Journal: J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2012-05
Authors: Richard Zayed; Brenda Davidson; Lucie Nadeau; Terrence S Callanan; William Fleisher; Lindsay Hope-Ross; Stacey Espinet; Helen R Spenser; Harold Lipton; Amresh Srivastava; Lorraine Lazier; Tamison Doey; Sarosh Khalid-Khan; Ann McKerlie; Neal Stretch; Roberta Flynn; Sabina Abidi; Kimberly St John; Genevieve Auclair; Vitaly Liashko; Sarah Fotti; Declan Quinn; Margaret Steele Journal: J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2016-02-01