5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  Approximately half of pediatric mental health-related ED visits occurred in settings with fewer than 10,000 annual pediatric visits.

• 2

  The study analyzed 5.4 million weighted mental health-related ED visits among pediatric patients aged 5 to 17 years from 2016 to 2022.

• 3

  Suicide or self-injury was the most frequent diagnosis, accounting for 24% of visits, followed by depressive disorders at 23%.

• 4

  Mental health-related ED visits increased by 24% from 2016 to 2022, while suicide-related visits rose by 74% during the same period.

• 5

  The study found disparities in ED presentation based on race and insurance type, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients more likely to visit high-volume EDs.