The relationship between school characteristics and the availability of mental health and related health services in middle and high schools in the United States

Problems related to mental illness are increasingly becoming the focal point of public concern over the safety and performance of schools, yet little is known about the availability and quality of school-based mental health services in the United States. In this article it is estimated that approximately 50% of US middle and high schools have any mental health counseling services available onsite and approximately 11% have mental health counseling, physical examinations, and substance abuse counseling available on-site. There are substantial differences in mental health counseling availability by region, urbanicity, and school size, with rural schools, schools in the Midwest and South regions, and small schools being least likely to offer mental health counseling. Multivariate estimates suggest that disparities between schools in the availability of mental health counseling and related health services may be partly explained by differences in access to Medicaid for financing of health services provided at school.

Disparities in adolescent health and health care: does socioeconomic status matter?

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS

National household survey.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING

We analyzed data on 12,434 adolescents (10 through 18 years old) included in the 1999 and 2000 editions of the National Health Interview Survey.

STUDY DESIGN

We assessed the presence of income gradients using four income groups. Outcome variables included health status, health insurance coverage, access to and satisfaction with care, utilization, and unmet health needs.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

After adjustment for confounding variables using multivariate analysis, statistically significant disparities were found between poor adolescents and their counterparts in middle- and higher-income families for three of four health status measures, six of eight measures of access to and satisfaction with care, and for six of nine indicators of access to and use of medical care, dental care, and mental health care.

CONCLUSION

Our analyses indicate adolescents in low-income families remain at a disadvantage despite expansions of the Medicaid program and the comparatively new State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Additional efforts are needed to ensure eligible adolescents are enrolled in these programs. Nonfinancial barriers to care must also be addressed to reduce inequities.

Adolescents' preventive care experiences before entry into the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

BACKGROUND

Adolescence has traditionally been thought of as a time of good health. However, adolescents comprise an important group with unique needs among State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollees. Throughout the 1990s, there was increasing evidence of unacceptably high morbidity and mortality among adolescents from injuries, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, and other conditions associated with risk behaviors. The establishment of relationships with the health care system can ensure prompt treatment and help promote healthy behaviors, assuming that the adolescent feels comfortable seeking help for his or her health-related concerns. However, health care systems typically are not designed to ensure that adolescents receive the primary and preventive care that might ameliorate the negative consequences of health-damaging behaviors.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to examine the following hypotheses. 1) Adolescents with special health care needs, those engaging in risk behaviors, and those who were insured before program enrollment would be more likely than those who were healthy and those not engaging in risk behaviors to have a preventive care visit in the year preceding the interview. No differences would be observed in the odds of preventive care visits based on age, race/ethnicity, and gender. 2) No differences would be observed in the receipt of risk-behavior counseling for those with a preventive care visit based on the adolescents' sociodemographic and health characteristics. 3) Adolescents who were older would be more likely to engage in risk behaviors than younger adolescents. There would be no differences in reports of risk behaviors based on gender, race/ethnicity, and children with special health care needs status.

METHODS

Adolescents 12 to 19 years old and newly enrolled in SCHIP were eligible for the study. Telephone interviews were conducted within 3 months after enrollment with parents of adolescents to obtain sociodemographic information and information about the adolescents' health by using the Children with Special Health Care Needs screener. Interviews also were conducted with the adolescents themselves to obtain information about the adolescents' risk behaviors and experiences with preventive care before SCHIP enrollment.

RESULTS

Interviews were completed with 1872 parents. In addition, a total of 918 interviews were completed with adolescents. Approximately 73% of adolescents reported engaging in at least one risk behavior. Approximately 69% reported having a primary care visit during the last year with 46% of those reporting that the visit was private. Of those reporting a primary care visit, between 41% and 53% reported receiving counseling along 1 of the 5 content dimensions of anticipatory guidance. Older adolescents were more likely to engage in risk behaviors than younger adolescents. Hispanic adolescents were approximately 30% less likely than white non-Hispanic adolescents to report engaging in risk behaviors. In terms of having a preventive care visit, adolescents with a special need were twice as likely to have a visit when compared with their healthy counterparts. Hispanics and black non-Hispanics were half as likely to have a preventive care visit (odds ratios of 0.59 and 0.54, respectively) than white non-Hispanics. Those engaging in risk behaviors were almost 50% less likely to report private preventive care visits than those reporting no risk behaviors. Privacy during the preventive care visit was associated with a greater odds of receiving counseling for risk behaviors in general, sexual activity, and emotional health and relationships. Depending on the type of counseling, those with private preventive care visits were 2 to 3 times more likely to receive the counseling than those whose visits were not private. In addition, those engaging in risk behaviors were 1.45 to almost 2 times more likely to receive counseling than those not engaging in any risk behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Based on our findings, health plans health plans and providers involved in SCHIP are likely to serve adolescents who have had limited opportunities for private preventive care visits and counseling during such visits. The most underserved are likely to be black and Hispanic adolescents who may have had no preventive care at all compared with their white non-Hispanic counterparts. State agencies, health plans, and providers need to follow established guidelines for adolescent health care that emphasize the provision of counseling for risk behaviors for all adolescents, not just those engaging in risk behaviors or those with special health care needs. Moreover, providers need to seek opportunities to ensure privacy for the adolescents during their preventive care visits so that much-needed counseling can be provided. Particular attention needs to be given to adolescents from minority groups to encourage them to seek preventive care.

[Efficiency of ambulatory services for female adolescent]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate effectiveness conditions of ambulatory services for female adolescent within Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, (Mexican Institute of Social Security) in Colima State, Mexico.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 medical units of Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Colima District, from June 2001 to June 2002. Data were collected using applied questionnaire Evaluation of ambulatory services for adolescents: effectiveness conditions of the Pan American Health Organization, the information collected included eight divisions with the mayor importance areas for the function services. We estimated frequencies and percentages.

RESULTS

By 14 possible activities, 1 of the 10 units does not achieve anything, 3 achieved one to tree, and 6 achieved four to nine activities. CONCLUSIONS. The conditions of effectiveness of ambulatory services for female adolescent were under of the minor limit in seven of the eight evaluated areas.

Reduced low birth weight for teenagers receiving prenatal care at a school-based health center: effect of access and comprehensive care

PURPOSE

To examine and compare access to care, comprehensiveness of care, and birth outcomes for teenagers receiving prenatal care in comprehensive adolescent pregnancy programs (CAPPS) in two different settings: school-based vs. hospital-based.

METHODS

Retrospective sohort study using existing data sources: medical records and birth certificates. Using school rosters and hospital clinic databases, we identified pregnant adolescents < or =18 years old who delivered a baby between July 1, 1995 and August 30, 1997 and who received prenatal care in a school-based CAPP (SB-CAPP) or hospital-based CAPP (HB-CAPP). Process of care measures (prenatal care adequacy and comprehensive care) and outcomes (low birth weight) were examined by site of care. Logistic regression models were computed to predict the odds of low birth weight by site of prenatal care, adjusting for prenatal care adequacy, comprehensive care, and possible confounders including baseline maternal characteristics.

RESULTS

Three-hundred-ninety eligible teens were identified. Mean age was 15.9 years, 93% were African-American, 84% in school, 13% had a prior birth, and 11% were cigarette smokers. Teens receiving care in the SB-CAPP were significantly younger and more likely to be in school than those in the HB-CAPP. Overall, the two groups had similar low rates of prenatal care adequacy, but compared with teens in the SB-CAPP, those in the HB-CAPP were 1.5 times less likely to receive comprehensive care. Logistic regression analyses adjusting for baseline maternal differences showed that HB-CAPP teens were more than three times as likely to deliver a low birth weight infant compared with SB-CAPP teens (AOR 3.75; 95% CI 1.05-13.36). The increased odds of low birth weight for HB-CAPP teens attenuated when prenatal care was adequate and comprehensive (AOR-HB-CAPP: 2.31, 95% CI 0.65-8.24).

CONCLUSIONS

School-based prenatal care was associated with significantly lower odds of low birth weight compared with HB-CAPP care. Although selection bias may be a factor in this observational study, our findings suggest that these improved birth outcomes may be mediated through prenatal care adequacy and provision of comprehensive care.

Utilization of public mental health services by children with serious emotional disturbances

The Integrated Database (IDB) was created to provide a broad picture of the use of state-funded mental health (MH) and substance abuse (SA) services. Assembled separately for three states (Delaware, Oklahoma, and Washington), the IDB links client-level and service-level data maintained by the state MH, SA, and Medicaid agencies. This study used the IDB to examine public MH services for children with serious emotional disturbances (SED) in 1996. Children with SED represented 9% to 22% of all children with MH service use. Between one half and two thirds of children with SED received psychotropic medication; 20% to 40% had a MH inpatient or residential stay. Medicaid was the primary funder of MH services for children with SED; only 2% to 12% of children with SED received services solely through the state MH agency.

Geographic disparities in children's mental health care

OBJECTIVE

It is widely believed that only a minority of vulnerable children and adolescents receive any mental health services. Although health care disparities associated with sociodemographic characteristics are well known, almost no information exists about another potentially important source of disparity for children: How does state of residence affect mental health service use?

METHODS

Observational analysis was conducted using the 1997 and 1999 waves of the National Survey of America's Families (N = 45 247 children aged 6-17), a population survey fielded in 13 states and a smaller geographically dispersed sample. We studied 4 dependent variables: 1) use of any mental health services and number of visits among users; 2) need for mental health care, based on 6 items from the Child Behavior Checklist; 3) unmet need (no services among children with identified need); and 4) need among users of mental health services.

RESULTS

Use of any mental health care differs >2-fold across states, ranging from 5% in California and Texas to >10% in Colorado and Massachusetts. The variation across states in service use and unmet need exceeds the differences across racial/ethnic groups or family income. For example, the odds ratio of unmet need in California versus Massachusetts is 3.04, compared with 2.33 between Hispanic and white children. Differences in population characteristics across states do not explain much of the observed geographic variation in mental health related outcomes for children. Perhaps the most disconcerting finding is that the differences in use are not paralleled by differences in need. Overall, there is no apparent relationship between levels of need and use of services across states. As a general rule, states with high rates of services do not have low levels of need or vice versa, although that situation exists. Alabama and Texas, for example, have higher rates of need and lower rates of use than the nation as a whole, whereas Washington state displays the opposite pattern. Even with the similar levels of need and service use, states differ in the effectiveness of their delivery system. Alabama and Mississippi have high rates of need and low levels of use, but rates of unmet need are not significantly higher in those 2 states than in the nation, whereas California, Florida, and Texas have the highest rates of unmet need. In California and Texas, children from high-income families are more likely to receive some mental health services than children from low-income families. In Alabama and Mississippi, as well as in the states with the lowest rates of unmet need (Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota), the opposite is true: children from low-income families are much more likely to receive any mental health service than children from high-income families.

CONCLUSIONS

Large differences from the national average across states in service use and unmet need are the rule, rather than the exception. National averages obscure large differences that can exceed the effects of race/ethnicity or income. The differences in the rates of use or unmet need are not driven by differences in the racial/ethnic or socioeconomic makeup across states but more likely are the result of differences in state policies and health care market characteristics. These state policies and health care market characteristics can interact with sociodemographic characteristics and affect how effectively resources are used. For states such as California and Texas that have the lowest rates of mental health service use, it may be less important to raise the rates of service use than to deliver them to the children with the highest need, predominantly black and Hispanic children and children in low-income families.

Does making clinic-based reproductive health services more youth-friendly increase service use by adolescents? Evidence from Lusaka, Zambia

PURPOSE

To report the findings of a study that evaluated the impact of three youth-friendly service (YFS) projects in Lusaka, Zambia. In 1994, the Lusaka District Health Management Team (LDHMT) identified adolescents as a priority underserved population with regard to reproductive health information and services. As part of its long-term goal to improve the health and well-being of Lusaka youth, the LDHMT, in collaboration with CARE, UNICEF/Zambia Family Life Movement, and John Snow International, implemented three separate YFS projects to increase service use among adolescents.

METHODS

Service statistics from 10 clinics (8 "treatment clinics" and 2 "non-YFS clinics") were used to measure adolescent service use. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to measure the degree of "youth-friendliness" at the clinics and the level of community acceptance of providing reproductive health services to youth. Specific indicators of youth-friendliness were developed that measured the attitudes of the clinic staff toward giving services to youth, whether clinic staff honored privacy and confidentiality, whether boys and young men were welcomed, whether the clinic policies supported providing services for youth, whether clinic staff promoted its services to youth in surrounding community, and whether youth, themselves, perceived that they would be welcomed and have their needs met at the clinics. Similarly, indicators of community acceptance were developed that measured whether parents and other adults supported the provision of reproductive health services to youth.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Although the projects appear to have improved the clinic experience for adolescent clients and to have increased service use levels at some clinics, the findings suggest that community acceptance of reproductive health services for youth may have a larger impact on the health-seeking behaviors of adolescents.

Health and health care-seeking behavior of adolescents in urban and rural China

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 13-18-year-old adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China. Morbidities showed few urban/rural differences. Concerns were mainly related to academic pressure. Respondents were eager users of health services; 73% were taking regular medication, but 52% had never attended a dentist.

Implementation and evaluation of an internet health site for adolescents in Switzerland

Ciao is a website specifically designed for young people and focuses mainly on health issues. This report presents the process of setting up the site and a first evaluation undertaken by using two self-administered questionnaires administered via the website itself. It suggests that it is possible to provide young people with authoritative health information and to facilitate their access to counseling and health care facilities by having young people use such a website.

Initial appointment nonattendance in child and family mental health clinics

Current medical, psychiatric, and nursing sources were examined for literature concerning the problem of initial appointment non attendance at child and family mental health clinics. The factors proposed to underlie missed initial appointments were reviewed and found to be both contradictory and inconsistent. Interventions designed to increase attendance were considered. These interventions were found to significantly increase attendance consistently. However, it is noted that the research on underlying factors is not utilized in structuring these interventions. Suggestions for future research to address this problem are offered.

Congruence between parents' and adolescents' reports of special health care needs in a Title XXI program

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to examine agreement between adolescents and their parents about whether or not the adolescent had a special health care need, using the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Screener.

METHODS

Telephone surveys that included the CSHCN Screener were conducted with 522 adolescents and their parents who were new enrollees in Florida's State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

RESULTS

Analyses revealed substantial agreement as to whether or not the adolescent had a chronic condition. However, a full 15% of pairs disagreed. Analyses of pair disagreement revealed that parents reported adolescents' chronic conditions more often than adolescents, most strikingly for mental health conditions. Additional analyses revealed that pairs with older adolescents, female adolescents, and Hispanic origin had higher odds of being congruent than their counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

The results showed higher congruence using the consequence-based CSHCN Screener than is typically reported for diagnosis-based approaches. Despite an impressive rate of agreement, the analyses also highlighted parents' tendency to overreport special health care needs relative to their adolescent, particularly for mental health issues, and illustrated some of the demographic factors that might predict congruence. These findings are relevant to work related to the use of tools such as the CSHCN Screener in profiling enrollees in health care programs that serve children and adolescents.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care for adolescents: a systematic review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

To identify the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in primary care, mental health care, reproductive health care, and asthma care for adolescents independent of socioeconomic status (SES).

DATA SOURCES

Systematic review of the scientific literature using standard bibliographic databases.

STUDY SELECTION

Inclusion criteria were (1) studies published in the past 12 years, (2) analyses included children and adolescents aged 17 years and younger, and (3) data analyzed by racial/ethnic groups while accounting for SES. A total of 203 studies were reviewed, of which 31 met the criteria for inclusion: 14 of 65 studies on primary care, 11 of 61 studies on mental health care, 2 of 50 studies on reproductive health, and 4 of 27 studies on asthma services.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data from tables in the selected studies were used to determine whether minority children and adolescents received fewer, greater, or the same health care services as white children and youth after taking into account SES.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Black youth received fewer primary care services in 8 studies, whereas in 4 studies no disparity was noted. Hispanic youth received fewer primary care services in 6 studies, whereas no disparity was noted in 5. One study did not include Hispanic subjects. In 2 studies minority youth, combined into a single category, received fewer services than did white youth. In a total of 6 studies black youth received fewer mental health services, whereas in 3 studies no disparity was noted and in 1 study black youth received a greater number of services. In 3 studies Hispanic youth received fewer mental health services, and in 3 studies there were no group differences. In 1 study, with racial and ethnic groups combined in a single category, minority children and youth received fewer mental health services than white subjects. Three studies did not include Hispanic subjects. Too few studies of reproductive and asthma care were available to draw conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that racial and ethnic disparities, independent of SES, exist in selected areas of adolescent health care. More studies are needed to better understand the extent and causes of these findings.

[Substance abuse adolescents and the health care network]

Substance user adolescents were asked to report on each contact they had had with any type of care providers since they had begun to use alcohol or illegal drugs regularly. Primary care doctors and social workers represent the main access to the care network. In one out of two contacts substance use was not discussed.

[Preliminary results of prophylactic program of allergic diseases in children in Lodz district]

Allergic diseases are one of the most important problems in medicine. As a consequence of increased frequency of allergic diseases, negative health, economical and social problems appear. To eliminate these consequences prophylactic programmes are created. In this paper preliminary results of Prophylactic Program of Allergic Diseases in Children in Łodz district in 2000-2001 years is presented.

The utilization of treatment and case management services by HIV-infected youth

PURPOSE

This article describes the essential components for effective and comprehensive HIV care for youth who have tested positive and have been linked to HIV treatment. Descriptive profile data are also presented that detail the demographics, risk behaviors and health care barriers of youth served in the five Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS), which focused on adolescents and young adults.

METHODS

Data presented are from the core multi-site data set, which was standardized across the five youth-oriented SPNS projects. Substance use and mental health symptoms were gathered using the Personal Problem Questionnaire (PPQ) screener, which was an adaptation of the PRIME-MD. In-depth qualitative interviews with enrolled HIV-positive youth were also conducted by several Projects.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Medical care alone is not enough and cannot be effective without supportive program components such as flexible scheduling, and a multi-disciplinary team approach that includes assertive case management. Case Managers help enrolled youth with concrete service needs such as housing, emergency financial assistance for food/utilities, transportation, child care, coverage for prescriptions, and public entitlements. They also help isolated youth to connect with a personal support system. Addressing those needs helps to facilitate and reinforce treatment adherence and retention. In addition to other identified needs such as stable housing and transportation, a significant number of enrolled youth self-reported having experienced physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse in their lives and articulated a need for mental health services. Therefore, effective HIV care for youth must be multi-faceted; it must consist of more than a medical component.

Retention, adherence, and compliance: special needs of HIV-infected adolescent girls and young women

PURPOSE

To demonstrate that whereas all HIV-infected youth evidence complex factors that challenge retention in care and adherence to treatment, HIV-infected females have additional issues that are gender-specific.

METHODS

Preliminary data from a subset of 21 adolescent/young women under age 25 from the Whole Life mental health-perinatal HIV care project were analyzed to illustrate the needs of these patients.

RESULTS

Of the 21 young women assessed, all but one was of minority background, and a sizeable majority had limited education (<high school diploma) and were quite poor (incomes <$500/mo.). Nearly 67% first learned of their HIV status between ages 16 and 19 years. More than three-fourths were pregnant and, of these, more than one-third entered prenatal care in the last trimester. More than half had responsibility for one to two other children. Two-thirds reported having unprotected sex in the prior 6 months. Nearly 43% had CD4 counts of 500 or below. About one-third screened positive for a mental health problem, and the majority reported a striking frequency of exposure to abusive events and traumatic losses across their short lifetimes.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent girls and young women have unique needs for developmentally appropriate medical and psychosocial approaches to promote retention and adherence.

Major depressive episode and health care use among adolescents and young adults

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to analyze how major depressive episode (MDE), chronic illness and their co-existence are associated with health care use in young people.

METHOD

As part of the Finnish Health Care Survey 1996, a random sample of 942 15 to 24-year-olds was interviewed. DS M-III-R MDE over the previous 12 months was assessed using the University of Michigan Composite Diagnostic Interview Short Form (UM-CIDI SF).

RESULTS

Of the study population, 43.7% (n=439) reported recent use of services for physical illness, the highest proportion being among respondents with both MDE and chronic illness (73.9 %). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, disabling chronic illness (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.51, 4.45) was related to treatment use for physical causes while MDE alone (OR 1.56; 95% CI 0.95, 2.58) or accompanied with chronic illness (OR 2.47; 95% CI 0.99, 6.14) showed borderline associations. In all, 1.5% (n=14) of the respondents reported recent health care use for any mental health problems. Of the 68 subjects with MDE, 51.5% (n=35) were estimated to be in need of treatment while 20.6% (n=14) had actually sought care for depression during the preceding year. Psychosocial impairment showed borderline association with treatment use (OR 3.77; 95% CI 0.97, 14.7). Only two subjects (14 %) reported recent use of antidepressant medication.

CONCLUSIONS

MDE in adolescents and young adults is undertreated. Antidepressant medication was seldom used in Finland in 1996. Young people suffering from both MDE and chronic illness are likely to use services other than psychiatric services, and systematic screening for depressive symptoms in these treatment settings is recommended.

Adolescent health spending and measures in state Title V Maternal and Child Health Programs

This study examines how state public health agencies report using Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant funds to improve the health of adolescents. The Title V Information System was analyzed to identify state level expenditures allocated to pediatric primary and preventive care and to identify measures that monitor adolescents' primary and preventive health care as defined by adolescent clinical preventive guidelines such as Bright Futures and Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services. Most states do not report expending 30 percent or more on primary and preventive care, nor do they report measuring adolescents' receipt of primary or preventive health services.

Where does reproductive health fit into the lives of adolescent males?

CONTEXT

To develop interventions to promote responsible sexual behaviors and design reproductive health services for adolescent males, we need a better understanding of the context of reproductive health in adolescent males' lives.

METHODS

A total of 32 males (mean age, 15.5 years) were recruited from two urban high schools. At each school, three group sessions, consisting of both individual free-listing activities and focus group discussions, were conducted; each addressed issues related to one of three domains-masculinity, responsibility and priorities. Data from the focus groups were examined through standard content analyses.

RESULTS

Participants identified school, family, future career and sports as their current life priorities; health was not a top concern. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were not seen as interrelated health concepts. STIs were considered a health issue, whereas pregnancy was perceived as a negative event that could prevent achievement of specific life goals. At times, notions regarding how a male behaves reflected traditional masculine beliefs: that violence is justified as a way to protect oneself, that having sex is part of a male's role in a relationship and that males should handle health issues by themselves.

CONCLUSIONS

To meet the reproductive health needs of adolescent males, program developers should consider how other life priorities and traditional masculine beliefs may serve as barriers to care and how to ensure that services reflect the adolescent male's perspective.

Factors associated with adolescent mental health service need and utilization

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association of parent, family, and adolescent variables with adolescent mental health service need and utilization.

METHOD

Correlates of adolescent mental health service utilization, self-perceived need and unmet need were investigated in a general population sample of 1,120 Dutch adolescents aged 11 to 18 years (78% response rate).

RESULTS

3.1% of the sample had been referred for mental health services within the preceding year, and 3.8% reported unmet need. 7.7% of adolescents at risk for psychopathology, and 17.8% of those indicating a need for help, had been referred. Family stress and adolescent's self-reported problems were most strongly associated with service need and utilization. Internalizing problems, female gender, and low education level were associated with self-perceived unmet need. Adolescent ethnicity and competence in activities and school were associated with service use, but did not influence service need, while the opposite effect was found for adolescent age and parental psychopathology.

CONCLUSION

In designing intervention programs aimed at increasing adolescent mental health service use, distinctions should be made between efforts focused at adolescents not recognizing their problems, and those with unmet need.

Racial/ethnic differences in parental endorsement of barriers to mental health services for youth

The present study investigated parental endorsement of barriers to care in a racially/ethnically diverse, at-risk sample of youth with mental health needs by testing the following hypotheses: (1) African American, Asian/Pacific Islander American, and Latino youth would have higher levels of unmet need compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs); (2) Parents of ethnic minority youth would report a greater number of barriers to mental health services for their children than would parents of NHWs; (3) The pattern of greater barrier endorsement by parents of ethnic minorities compared to parents of NHWs would persist across different barrier types; (4) Barrier endorsement would be related to unmet need for mental health services. As hypothesized, ethnic minority youth had higher levels of unmet need as compared to NHWs. However, despite this finding, parents of ethnic minority youth reported fewer barriers than did parents of NHWs, and this pattern generally persisted across barrier types. Furthermore, barrier endorsement was unrelated to unmet need. Post hoc analyses suggest the influence of cultural factors upon barrier endorsement, indicating the importance of taking such influences into account in future research on barriers to care.

Use of health and mental health services by adolescents across multiple delivery sites

PURPOSE

To assess the role that school-based health centers (SBHCs) play in facilitating access to care among low-income adolescents and the extent to which SBHCs and a community health center network (CHN) provide similar or complementary care.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort design was used to compare health care service use among adolescents relying on SBHCs compared with adolescents relying on a CHN. The study sample consisted of 451 inner-city high school students who made 3469 visits between 1989 and 1993. Encounter data were abstracted from medical records. Frequency of use and reason for use are examined according to various sociodemographic and health insurance characteristics.

RESULTS

SBHC users averaged 5.3 visits per year. Minority youth who used the SBHC had the highest visit rates (Hispanic, 6.6 visits/year; African-American, 10.6 visits/year). Visits to SBHCs were primarily for medical (66%, p <.001) and mental health services (34%, p <.001). Visits at CHN sites were 97% medical (p <.001). Visits by adolescents were 1.6 times more likely to be initiated for health maintenance reasons (p =.002; confidence interval [CI], 1.17-2.06) and 21 times more likely to be initiated for mental health reasons (p = <.001; CI, 14.76-28.86) at SBHCs than at CHN facilities. Urgent and emergent care use in the CHN system was four times more likely for adolescents who never used a SBHC (p <.001; CI, 3.44-5.47).

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports the view that SBHCs provide complementary services. It also shows their unique role in improving utilization of mental health services by hard-to-reach populations. The extent to which community health centers and other health care providers, including managed care organizations, can build on the unique contributions of SBHCS may positively influence access and quality of care for adolescents in the future.

Substance use problems and associated psychiatric symptoms among adolescents in primary care

OBJECTIVE

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are associated with other mental disorders in adolescence, but it is unclear whether less severe substance use problems (SUPs) also increase risk. Because youths with SUPs are most likely to present first to their site of primary care, it is important to establish the presence and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity among adolescent primary care patients with subdiagnostic use of alcohol or other drugs. The objective of this study was to determine the association between level of substance use and psychiatric symptoms among adolescents in a primary care setting.

METHODS

Patients who were aged 14 to 18 years and receiving routine care at a hospital-based adolescent clinic were eligible. Participants completed the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers Substance Use/Abuse scale, which is designed to detect social and legal problems associated with alcohol and other drugs, and the Adolescent Diagnostic Interview, which evaluates for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition diagnoses of substance abuse/dependence and 8 types of psychiatric symptoms. We examined gender-specific associations of no/nonproblematic substance use (NSU), SUP, and SUD with psychiatric symptom presence (any symptoms within each type), score (symptom scores summed across all types), and number of types (number of different symptom types endorsed).

RESULTS

Of 538 adolescents (68% female; mean +/- standard deviation age: 16.6 +/- 1.4 years), 66% were classified with NSU, 18% with SUP, and 16% with SUD, and 80% reported having at least 1 type of psychiatric symptom in the previous 12 months. Symptoms of anxiety were most common (60% of both boys and girls), followed by symptoms of depression among girls (51%) and symptoms of attention-deficit disorder (ADD) among boys (47%). Compared with those with NSU, youths with SUP and those with SUD were more likely to report symptom presence for several types of psychiatric symptoms. Girls with SUP or SUD had increased odds of reporting symptoms of mania, ADD, and conduct disorder; girls with SUD were at increased risk for symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and hallucinations or delusions. Boys with SUP had increased odds of ADD symptoms, whereas boys with SUD had increased odds of reporting hallucinations or delusions. Boys with SUP or SUD had increased odds of reporting symptoms of conduct disorder. Youths with SUP and SUD also had higher psychiatric symptom scores and reported a wider range of psychiatric symptom types (number of types) compared with youths with NSU.

CONCLUSIONS

Like those with SUD, adolescents with subdiagnostic SUP were at increased risk for experiencing a greater number of psychiatric symptoms and a wider range of psychiatric symptom types than youths with NSU. Specifically, adolescents with SUP are at increased risk for symptoms of mood (girls) and disruptive behavior disorders (girls and boys). These findings suggest the clinical importance of SUP and support the concept of a continuum between subthreshold and diagnostic substance use among adolescents in primary care. Identification of youths with SUP may allow for intervention before either the substance use or any associated psychiatric problems progress to more severe levels.

Meeting the reproductive health care needs of adolescents: California's Family Planning Access, Care, and Treatment Program

PURPOSE

To examine the effect of the California Office of Family Planning's Family Access, Care, and Treatment Program (Family PACT), which was established in 1997 to provide comprehensive, reproductive health services for low-income adolescents and adults. Program evaluation was used to measure access to services, develop a profile of users, identify service utilization patterns, and assess the sensitivity of the health care system to the needs of adolescents.

METHODS

Data sources include baseline data on California's previously established family planning services, enrollment, and claims data for the first 4 years of Family PACT, client exit interviews, and on-site observations.

RESULTS

Adolescents represented 21% of all clients served by Family PACT in fiscal year 2000-2001 (FY 2000-2001). Adolescent clients served increased from 100,000 in FY 1995-1996 to more than 260,000 in FY 2000-2001(161% increase). The proportion of males has increased from 1% to 11%. In FY 2000-2001, Hispanics comprised 50% of adolescent clients, followed by 32% white, 9% African-American, and 6% Asian, Filipino, or Pacific Islander. Over one-half were aged 18 or 19 years, 42% were aged 15 to 17 years, and 5% were aged younger than 15 years. Contraceptive methods most often dispensed were barrier methods (55% for females, 72% for males), oral contraceptives (44%), contraceptive injections (16%), and emergency contraceptives (7%); 57% received sexually transmitted infection screening.

CONCLUSIONS

By linking eligibility determination to the delivery of services, removing cost barriers, increasing the numbers and types of providers offering publicly funded services, and ensuring confidentiality, greater numbers of adolescents obtained needed reproductive health care, thus ensuring an opportunity to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.