Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2019 Oct;89(10):839-846.
doi: 10.1111/josh.12823. Epub 2019 Jul 30.

Students Seeking Mental Health Services at School-Based Health Centers: Characteristics and Utilization Patterns

Hilary Stempel  1 , Matthew G Cox-Martin  2 , Sonja O'Leary  3 , Rachel Stein  4 , Mandy A Allison  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Students Seeking Mental Health Services at School-Based Health Centers: Characteristics and Utilization Patterns

Hilary Stempel et al. J Sch Health. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Background: School-based health centers (SBHC) can address unmet mental health needs. Little is known about how students seek care from different providers at SBHCs. We describe and compare how students' SBHC visits differ for students seen by mental health providers (MH group) relative to students seen only by primary care providers (PC group).

Methods: Using administrative data with ICD-9 codes from 9 SBHCs in Denver, Colorado serving youth 10-19 years old during the 2014-2015 school year, we analyzed predictors of SBHC clinic visits via negative binomial regression and ICD-9 codes for first visit to MH providers.

Results: Mental health users (N = 516) had an average of 14.2 ± 12.9 SBHC visits and PC users (N = 4026) had an average of 2.6 ± 2.4 SBHC visits annually. Students in the MH group, those with public insurance, and females had a higher incidence rate ratio for SBHC clinic visits than PC group students, those with private insurance, and males respectively. Depression was the most common primary diagnosis for the first MH visit.

Conclusions: Students accessing MH services at SBHC return for follow up visits at higher rates than students only seeing PC providers. SBHCs represent a valuable opportunity to enhance integrated mental health services.

Keywords: adolescents; mental health; primary care; school-based health centers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Williams SB, O, Connor EA, Eder M, Whitlock EP. Screening for child and adolescent depression in primary care settings: a systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Pediatrics. 2009;123(4):e716-e735.
    1. Merikangas KR, He JP, Burstein M, et al. Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication - adolescent supplement (NCS-A). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010;49(10):980-989.
    1. Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. The future of pediatrics: mental health competencies for pediatric primary care. Pediatrics. 2009;124(1):410-421.
    1. Kessler RC, Avenevoli S, Ries Merikangas K. Mood disorders in children and adolescents: an epidemiologic perspective. Biol Psychiatry. 2001;49(12):1002-1014.
    1. Merikangas KR, He JP, Burstein M, et al. Service utilization for lifetime mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: results of the National Comorbidity Survey - adolescent supplement (NCS-A). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;50(1):32-45.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources