Studies have noted how social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of children.1,2,3 We reviewed data from January 1, 2017, to February 28, 2021, to see if the number of pediatric mental health visits has increased during the pandemic. Our analysis shows that the volume of mental health visits for patients ages 5-18 increased slightly for outpatient visits and decreased for ED visits and hospital admissions between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021. As shown in Figure 1, outpatient visit volumes increased 4% over predicted volumes. ED visits and hospital admissions decreased 26% and 22% below predicted volumes, respectively.
Visit volumes have declined overall during the pandemic; however, as of February 28, 2021, visits with a mental health diagnosis have made up a larger proportion of pediatric outpatient and ED visits than they did before the pandemic. The proportion of outpatient and ED visits notably increased at the start of the pandemic largely because of the significant decrease in overall outpatient and ED visit volume at that time. Previous studies have found that patients who seek care during the pandemic are doing so for higher acuity conditions.4 An increase in the proportion of visits for mental health could indicate that those who are seeking care are doing so for higher acuity mental health needs. The proportion of outpatient visits and ED visits for mental health increased by 44% and 36% over predicted volumes, respectively, while hospital admissions for mental health was 2% below predicted volumes.
Our analysis shows that while the overall visit volume for pediatric mental health visits has not increased, pediatric patients are more often receiving care for mental health compared to other concerns during the pandemic.
