Abstract
This study evaluated parents’ experience with University of Massachusetts (UMass) Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), a consultation service to primary care providers (PCP), aimed at improving access to child psychiatry. Parent satisfaction questionnaire was sent to families referred to UMass MCPAP by their PCP, asking about their concerns leading to the referral, the satisfaction from the service provided, adequacy of the follow up plan, and outcome. Seventy-nine percent of parents agreed or strongly agreed that the services provided were offered in a timely manner. Fifty percent agreed or strongly agreed that their child’s situation improved following their contact with the services. Sixty-nine percent agreed or strongly agreed that the service met their family’s need. The results suggest moderate to high parental satisfaction with MCPAP model, but highlight ongoing challenges in making successful referrals for children’s mental health services in the community, following MCPAP recommendations.
Highlights
This study evaluated parents’ experience with University of Massachusetts (UMass) Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), a consultation service to primary care providers (PCP), aimed at improving access to child psychiatry
PREVALENCE AND MAGNITUDE OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS Approximately one in five children and adolescents (15 million) meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) during the course of a year (US Department of Health and Human Services, 1999), and between 15 and 25% of children and adolescents seen in pediatric primary care have a behavioral health disorder with significant psychopathology, high functional impairment, and frequent psychiatric diagnostic comorbidity (Lahey et al, 1996; Wildman et al, 1997; Cassidy and Jellinek, 1998; Connor et al, 2006; Guevara et al, 2007; Merikangas et al, 2010)
In a survey of pediatricians who work in a primary care setting, pediatricians estimated that on average 15% of children seen in their practice are treated for behavioral health disorders, and reported that they frequently provide both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments to children and adolescents with mild to moderate behavioral health disorders, but not for severe disorders (Williams et al, 2004)
Summary
This study evaluated parents’ experience with University of Massachusetts (UMass) Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), a consultation service to primary care providers (PCP), aimed at improving access to child psychiatry. INTRODUCTION “Many barriers remain that prevent children, teenagers, and their parents from seeking help from the small number of specially trained professionals. This places a burden on pediatricians, family physicians, and other gatekeepers to identify children for referral and treatment decisions (US Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).”. Most pediatricians agree that greater collaborations with mental health providers would www.frontiersin.org
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