OBJECTIVE

Addressing the acute mental healthcare needs of children is a national crisis. Despite the ongoing crisis, there are limited prior studies that capture caregiver perspectives on acute pediatric mental healthcare, notably in a general emergency department (ED) in a rural state. Based on these knowledge gaps, our objective was to assess caregiver opinions and perspectives of acute management for children boarding with mental health conditions.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews were conducted with caregivers of patients (under 18 years old) with a primary mental health condition boarding in a general ED (length of stay ≥24 hours) within a qualitative grounded theory approach. An interview guide was developed a priori and reviewed among key stakeholders. A trained study team performed the interviews. A coding tree was developed through an iterative process that included double-coding transcripts and monitoring of interrater reliability to perform thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Fourteen interviews were conducted to reach thematic saturation. Key themes elicited from caregivers included mental healthcare delivery, access to mental healthcare services, care setting, and level of support for families and caregivers. Most caregivers focused on the following challenges and suggestions: access to appropriate, evidence-based mental healthcare, improved communication between all stakeholders involved, and staff education on mental healthcare for children.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregivers face considerable challenges in attaining timely and appropriate acute mental health care for their children. Immediate and innovative resource allocation is needed across the healthcare continuum to bolster the acute mental healthcare services currently offered to children and families, especially in the general ED setting.