Adolescent Health in the Post-Pandemic Era: Evolving Stressors, Interventions, and Prevention Strategies amid Rising Depression and Suicidality

Abstract

Prior to COVID-19, there were already increasing rates of youth with mental health concerns, including an increase in youth presenting to medical emergency departments (EDs) with mental health chief complaints and limited access to treatment. This trend worsened during the pandemic, and rates of youth presenting to medical EDs with suicidal ideation and self-harm increased 50% from 2019 to 2022. This resulted in a "boarding" crisis, in part, due to a lack of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization beds, and many youth were left without access to adequate treatment. Additional study of innovations in health care delivery will be paramount in meeting this need.

Keywords: Adolescent; COVID-19; Child and adolescent psychiatry; Depression; Mental health; Suicide, suicidality, suicidal ideation.