Abstract
Clinical diagnoses of emotional problems and depression are serious global health care issues among children and adolescents in today’s society. Global estimates of the prevalence of childhood and adolescent emotional problems and depression have been found to be growing worldwide. Anxiety and mood disorders are very common emotional problems or disorders identified among this population. Similarly, major depressive disorder (MDD) is now considered one of the most common diagnoses among children and adolescents with the first depressive episode generally identified in late childhood or early adolescence. Likewise, co-morbid disorders including emotional problems have been found to significantly impact the psycho-social-emotional and mental health status of children and adolescents. Routine screening and assessment for emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents has been recommended for Health Care Providers (HCP’s) in clinical settings. However, many children and adolescents are not routinely screened and unfortunately this results in missed or under-diagnosing. For these reasons, raising the awareness of HCP’s in clinical practice regarding these issues may significantly improve routine screening, early detection, and treatment efforts among children and adolescents. A synopsis of the current literature including implications for clinical practice, research, and evidence-based intervention is discussed.
Highlights
Emotional problems and depression are not uncommonHow to cite this paper: Shavers, C
Conducting routine screening, assessing and referrals for emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents in clinical settings including primary care, sexually transmitted disease (STD) and family planning clinics may assist in minimizing the number of undetected cases, underdiagnosising, undertreatment, and possibly the numerous costs associated with diagnoses of emotional trauma and depression among children and adolescents (NICHM Foundation, 2010; European Communities, 2010; Williams, O’Connor, Eder, & Whitlock, 2009; Rhodes, Sciberras, Oberklaid, South, Davies, & Efron, 2012; Friedman, Sadhu, & Jellinek, 2012; Senn et al, 2010; Schwarz, 2010; Hirth & Berenson, 2012; Merikangas et al, 2009)
Emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents can occur at any age, in some cases starting in children as early as infancy (Keren & Tyano, 2006)
Summary
Emotional problems (including anxiety, mood disorders, emotional distress) and depression are not uncommon. Conducting routine screening, assessing and referrals for emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents in clinical settings including primary care, sexually transmitted disease (STD) and family planning clinics may assist in minimizing the number of undetected cases, underdiagnosising, undertreatment, and possibly the numerous costs associated with diagnoses of emotional trauma and depression among children and adolescents (NICHM Foundation, 2010; European Communities, 2010; Williams, O’Connor, Eder, & Whitlock, 2009; Rhodes, Sciberras, Oberklaid, South, Davies, & Efron, 2012; Friedman, Sadhu, & Jellinek, 2012; Senn et al, 2010; Schwarz, 2010; Hirth & Berenson, 2012; Merikangas et al, 2009) The purpose of this commentary is four-fold to: 1) provide a brief background on the scope of the problem, epidemiology and prevalence from a global perspective. The purpose of this commentary is four-fold to: 1) provide a brief background on the scope of the problem, epidemiology and prevalence from a global perspective. 2) Highlight key issues and concerns relating to the diagnoses of emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents. 3) Discuss the implications of routine screening, assessment and referral for emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents by HCP’s in clinical settings including primary care, STD, and family planning clinics. 4) Hopefully, further raise consciousness among HCP’s concerning the impact of emotional problems and depression among children and adolescents today in our society
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