Mental Health in the United States: Health Care and Well Being of Children With Chronic Emotional, Behavioral, or Developmental Problems—United States

Mental Health in the United States: Health Care and Well Being of Children With Chronic Emotional, Behavioral, or Developmental Problems—United States, 2001

JAMA. 2005;294:2567-2569. MMWR. 2005;54:985-989

The needs of children with emotional, behavioral, and developmental (EBD) problems are a national concern. To assess the health care and well being of children who have chronic EBD problems requiring treatment or counseling, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University and CDC analyzed parent-reported data from the 2001 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. This report summarizes the findings of that analysis, which indicated that, compared with children with special health-care needs (CSHCN) who do not have chronic EBD problems, children with chronic EBD problems were more likely to experience diminished health and quality of life and to have problems accessing and receiving needed care. These children were more likely to have health conditions that affect their daily activities and cause them to miss school. In addition, their health-care needs were more likely to affect their families. The results of this analysis reinforce existing recommendations that encourage expansions in screening and early detection of mental health problems, as well as improvements in access, coordination, and quality of health-care services for children with EBD problems.