Experts Declared Children’s Mental Health Challenges National Emergency

A group of pediatricians and other experts declared children’s mental health challenges is a “national emergency”. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association — which collectively represent over 77,000 physicians and over 200 children’s hospitals — are sounding the alarm over a “shocking” rise in families seeking urgent mental health help for their children.

The medical associations pointed to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found between March and October 2020, the proportion of mental health-related emergency department visits increased 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for children ages 12 to 17 when compared to 2019. There was also a 50.6% increase in suspected suicide attempt emergency department visits among girls ages 12 to 17 from Feb. 21 to March 20, 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, another CDC study found. Click Here To Read More.

Source: ABC News