Outpatient Care Before and After Mental Health Hospitalization for Adolescents From Immigrant, Refugee and Non-immigrant Backgrounds in British Columbia: A Retrospective Cohort Study: Soins en consultation externe avant et après une hospitalisation en santé mentale pour les adolescents, issus ou non de l'immigration ou réfugiés, en Colombie-Britannique: Une étude de cohorte rétrospective.

ObjectiveUnderstanding differences in outpatient care before and after mental health hospitalization for adolescents from diverse backgrounds is critical to ensuring effective and responsive care. The objective of the current study was to examine outpatient mental health care in the two years before and 30 days after a mental health hospitalization for adolescents from immigrant, refugee and non-immigrant backgrounds.MethodThis retrospective, population-based cohort study, conducted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, analyzed linked health service utilization data (practitioner billings, hospitalizations) and migration records to track outpatient care before and after mental health hospitalization. The study included adolescents (ages 10-18) with an unscheduled/urgent mental health hospitalization between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2016 (n = 5,314) from a cohort of adolescents in 10 of the largest school districts in BC (between 1996 and 2016). The main analyses examined outpatient mental health visits (e.g., general practitioner/psychiatrist) (i) in the two years before hospitalization and (ii) in the 30 days after discharge. Sub-analyses focused on outpatient visits with psychiatrists.ResultsOverall, 30.4% had no outpatient mental health visit in the two years before hospitalization and 45.1% had none in the 30 days following discharge. First-generation immigrants and refugees and second-generation immigrant adolescents were significantly less likely than non-immigrants to have had an outpatient mental health visit in the two years before mental health hospitalization (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.98; aOR = 0.75, 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.93; aOR = 0.40, 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.64). Second-generation immigrant adolescents were significantly more likely than non-immigrants to have had any outpatient mental health visit in the 30 days following hospitalization (aOR = 1.34, 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.65).ConclusionsResults suggest outpatient care before and after mental health hospitalizations is limited for many adolescents in BC and differed by migration background. Implications for meeting standards of care are discussed.