Importance Of Disparities In Childhood Mental Health

Childhood mental health disorders are a growing public health issue due to increasing prevalence, early age of onset, and impact on the child, family, and community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013) report that 20% of children living in the United States (U.S.) suffer from mental illness, many of whom do not receive proper screening, leading to delayed or missed diagnosis. Many parents of children with emotional issues and mental health diagnosis are not aware of the services available to them in their communities. A goal of Healthy People 2020 (United States Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], Healthy People 2020, 2016a) is to improve healthy development, safety, and well-being in the youth population by increasing the percentage of children with mental health problems who receive early screening, preventive services, and treatment. The purposes of this paper are to examine the issues of disparities in childhood and adolescent mental related to health screening and prevention services, and to discuss innovative strategies for resolving these issues.
Rationale of Importance Childhood and adolescent mental illness is on the rise. Childhood …show more content…
It is important as nurse leaders to understand that mental illness follows a developmental course that usually starts early on in a child’s life (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2016). Currently, pediatric training provides limited, if any, experience in screening, prevention, and intervention related to mental health disorders. The current structure of healthcare does not have the funding for child mental health prevention. For these reasons, it is important for nursing practice to evolve to adapt to the needs of this growing