Sappenfield Olivia R, Ghandour Reem M, Lebrun-Harris Lydie A
Office of Epidemiology and Research, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, MD, USA.
Public Health Rep. 2025 Aug 28:333549251350570. doi: 10.1177/00333549251350570.
Many children with a mental health condition do not receive mental health treatment, and access differs across sociodemographic characteristics. The objective of this study was to assess the need for, receipt of, difficulty obtaining, and satisfaction with children's mental health treatment among US households with children.
We analyzed data collected from June 7 through August 7, 2023, from the Household Pulse Survey. The sample included 66 611 households with children aged 0 to 17 years, with 53 842 households answering questions about children's mental health treatment needs. We defined the terms "need," "receipt," "difficulty getting treatment," and "satisfaction." We estimated the prevalence of treatment needs overall and by number of children in the household, children's ages, respondent characteristics, and annual household income. Analyses incorporated replicate weights.
About 17% of households with children reported that some or all children needed mental health treatment; of these, 70% reported that all children received needed treatment. About 62% of households reported some difficulty getting treatment, and about 37% were dissatisfied with at least some of the treatment received. The prevalence of need for, receipt of, difficulty obtaining, and satisfaction with mental health treatment differed across covariates, in particular, children's ages; respondent race, ethnicity, and health insurance; and annual household income.
There are unmet needs for children's mental health treatment, a high prevalence of difficulty obtaining treatment, and dissatisfaction with treatment when obtained. Future research should investigate the barriers to receiving timely mental health treatment and reasons for dissatisfaction with care.
许多有心理健康问题的儿童未接受心理健康治疗，且获得治疗的机会因社会人口学特征而异。本研究的目的是评估美国家庭中有孩子的家庭对儿童心理健康治疗的需求、接受治疗情况、获得治疗的困难程度以及对治疗的满意度。
我们分析了2023年6月7日至8月7日从家庭脉搏调查中收集的数据。样本包括66611个有0至17岁孩子的家庭，其中53842个家庭回答了有关儿童心理健康治疗需求的问题。我们定义了“需求”“接受治疗”“获得治疗困难”和“满意度”等术语。我们估计了总体治疗需求的患病率，并按家庭中孩子的数量、孩子的年龄、受访者特征和家庭年收入进行了估计。分析纳入了重复权重。
约17%有孩子的家庭报告称部分或所有孩子需要心理健康治疗；其中，70%报告称所有孩子都接受了所需治疗。约62%的家庭报告在获得治疗方面存在一些困难，约37%的家庭对至少部分接受的治疗不满意。心理健康治疗的需求、接受治疗、获得治疗困难和满意度的患病率在不同协变量之间存在差异，特别是孩子的年龄；受访者的种族、民族和健康保险；以及家庭年收入。
儿童心理健康治疗存在未满足的需求，获得治疗困难的患病率很高，且获得治疗后对治疗不满意。未来的研究应调查获得及时心理健康治疗的障碍以及对治疗不满意的原因。
