In the last few years, virtually everyone has struggled with mental health, but children seem to be particularly hard hit. Caregivers report that demand for mental health services for children has skyrocketed during the pandemic and that demand continues to grow.
In an effort to meet this need, the Child Behavioral Health Unit (SIP) of Indiana University Health Southern Indiana (SBU) is leveraging grants, including funds from the IU Health Foundation. This funding allows clinicians to tap into a resource that not only meets a need but creates an environment familiar to children: technology.
Statistics for southern Indiana show a clear need for behavioral health services for children. In the 10-county region served by SIP, referrals for SBU services increased from 1,800 in 2019 to 7,800 in 2020. By 2021, approximately 10,500 patients were seen at pediatric clinics for behavioral health reasons.
SBU Director Mary Balle said these visits included children and young people experiencing a variety of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression and substance use. In some children, COVID-19 protocols cause isolationist tendencies and obsessive-compulsive disorders — for example, a constant need to wash their hands — while news of mass shootings makes others afraid to go to school. Now monkeypox is plaguing children. Thoughts of violence and aggression are on the rise.
“These kids are carrying the world on their shoulders,” Balle said.
And if that weren’t enough, Balle notes that most of these kids, along with their parents, don’t even realize they’re suffering from mental health challenges.
However, technology is helping the SBU detect these issues and connect patients to an appropriate provider in a timely manner. To do this, SBU uses pre-screening surveys that can be accessed on computers, tablets or even smartphones.
Because children are so used to communicating through devices, they often answer questions candidly through a device rather than face-to-face, Balle said. Through such screening, caregivers help children on both ends – from the early signs of depression to those who have overdosed, are about to commit suicide or are experiencing trauma. serious injury. For more screenings, SBU is looking for more money to buy more iPads.
“Technology helps us catch them earlier and implement interventions,” Balle said.
The opportunity spiraled out of control, she added. SBU also received a grant to provide tele-med services to area school systems, serving children who experience barriers to care such as the need for distance or time. Another grant is allowing the SBU to set up virtual group counseling sessions.
Balle notes that SIP caregivers support the program. SIP pediatricians redirected clinic staff to a behavioral health program, and they dedicated three offices and an entire other floor of their building to behavioral health services. In addition, practicing physicians and nurses have pursued additional training to be well informed about the mental health needs of their patients.
With more funds, Balle said, the SBU will add even more technology, as well as staff to track care needs.
The goal in all of this? Catch children’s mental health challenges early, connect them to care, and help them see through the dark. “When you show a child the beauty of the world, they are more likely to be optimistic,” says Balle.
If you would like to support advancements SBU advances in telehealth, contact IU Health Foundation Senior Development Officer Emily Trinkle at 812,345.5625.
