The dearth of beds available for young people experiencing a mental health crisis came into clearer focus for Jennifer Hoffmann when a family shared their story of having to leave Alaska for psychiatric care in Washington.
More than 40 percent of high schoolers reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless by 2021, highlighting an alarming trend in youth mental health that experts fear will continue.
The study indicated that there has been no significant change in the number of pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds nationally from 2017 to 2020, which is alarming amidst the growing mental health crisis.
Most available beds are in urban areas, raising serious concerns about access to mental health care for children in rural regions who are disproportionately affected.
#pediatric-mental-health #psychiatric-beds #youth-mental-health-crisis #healthcare-inequity #jama-pediatrics-study
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