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Pediatrician Perspectives on Children’s Access to Mental Health Services: Consequences and Potential Solutions

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Abstract

This paper examines pediatricians’ perspectives regarding access to children’s mental health care. In response to a question about factors that help or hinder coordination of care 190 respondents voluminously wrote about mental health access barriers. Responses were qualitatively analyzed to understand pediatricians’ perspectives. Four thematic areas emerged: Insurance issues; availability of mental health specialty providers; state mental health systems; and pediatricians’ attempts to improve access to mental health services. Pediatricians’ responses included educating themselves, using telemedicine, and hiring co-located mental health specialists. Recommendations are made to address pediatricians’ treatment of children with mental illnesses and their access to treatment resources.

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Notes

  1. In parentheses added.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by a dissertation grant from the Fahs-Back Fund for Research and Experimentation. The preparation of this paper was supported in part by NIMH P30 MH068579. The author would like to thank Robert Markowitz, Jody Hoffer-Gittell, Dominic Hodgkin, Grant Ritter, and Enola Proctor for feedback on earlier drafts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Mental Health Services Research, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., Campus Box 1093, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

    Susan G. Pfefferle

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  1. Susan G. Pfefferle
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Correspondence to Susan G. Pfefferle.

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A previous version of this paper was presented as a poster at Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, Boston, June, 2005 and The 19th Annual Research Conference: A System of Care: Expanding the Research Base, February 22-24, 2006.

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Pfefferle, S.G. Pediatrician Perspectives on Children’s Access to Mental Health Services: Consequences and Potential Solutions. Adm Policy Ment Health 34, 425–434 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-007-0122-2

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