ABSTRACTS
Pediatric Behavioral Health Incidents in the Prehospital Setting: A Statewide AnalysisAuthor: Morgan Anderson | | Associate Authors: Monica Robertson | Douglas G. Butler Jr.
Introduction Pediatric behavioral health (PBH) emergencies have been on the rise for many years. This has resulted in an increase in the utilization of EMS and emergency departments to care for these patients. Objective Purpose of study is to describe pediatric patients most at risk for behavioral health emergencies and assess trends across Kentucky (KY). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all pediatric EMS records within the state of KY from 2018 to 2021. Data was aggregated and analyzed within Microsoft PowerBI Version 2.88.1385.0. The incidents included in the analysis had an incident/patient disposition and 9-1-1 response that resulted in patient contact, and patients were included from ages 4 to 17 years. Provider Primary Impression and Provider Secondary Impression fields were searched for the ICD-10 terms related to behavioral health disorders, but excluded any incidents solely related to suspected alcohol- or drug-induced disorders. Kentucky was compared to the US and regional dataset. US regions were identified utilizing the US Census region groups.³ Chi-square analysis was performed to measure differences from 2018 to 2021. Results
Of the 104,061 pediatric incidents in KY, 7% were PBH incidents, compared to 11% across the US and 9% in the South. Most of these incidents in KY involved females (60%), were White (73%) and within the 14- to 17-year-old group Conclusion In KY, the proportion of PBH incidents attended by EMS has continued to increase over the last 4 years. It is important to identity communities and pediatric groups experiencing increased levels of behavioral health emergencies and provide additional access to mental health support services, enhance acute care during crisis, and reduce burden on prehospital services.
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