Mental Health Retrospective Study

The Kids are not ok: Emergency Department management of acute mental health crises in children and young people – a retrospective study

Recently there has been an alarming increase in emergency department (ED) mental health presentations (self-harm, depression, and behavioural disorders) by children and adolescents. For young people, EDs are increasingly an initial or recurrent point of contact with the mental health system. Despite the mental health crisis for young people presenting to EDs across Australia, currently very little is known about the patterns, triggers, healthcare costs, and outcomes for these vulnerable patients.

The Mental Health Retrospective Study is part of “The Kids are Not okay” program of research. The Retrospective study specifically aims to describe, in different settings and types of EDs: (a) current patterns and precipitants of ED mental health presentations; (b) prevalence of co-morbid conditions; (c) factors (including demographic, family and other social factors) associated with mental illness and suicidality; and (d) the care provided within the ED and on follow-up.

In this study we will extract retrospective data from the medical records of up to 100 eligible children and young people with a mental health presentation in 2018 per site (aged <18 years), for up to 30 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. We will also collect data for 12 months before and after their first 2018 presentation.

Study design

Australasia, multicentre, non-interventional, retrospective study.

Chief Investigators

Simon Craig (Monash Health)
Franz Babl (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Meredith Borland (Perth Children’s Hospital)
Vicki Anderson (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Rohan Borschmann (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Kylie Gray (Warwick University)
Michael Gordon (Monash University)
Glenn Melvin (Deakin University)
Harriet Hiscock (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Katherine Lee (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Frank Muscara (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Bruce Tonge (Monash University)
Amit Kochar (Women’s and Children’s Hospital)
Richard Haslam (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Cate Wilson (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)
Emma Tavender (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)

Timeframe

2019 – 2021

Funding

NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund Million Minds Mission.

Site locations

  • Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW, Australia (Site PI Alexandra Thorburn)
  • Royal North Shore Hospital, NSW, Australia (Site PI Alexandra Thorburn)
  • Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital, NSW, Australia (Site PI Amie Beattie)
  • Sunshine Coast University Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site PI David La Spina)
  • Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site Pi Shane George)
  • Robina Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site PI Sabine Woerwag-Mehta)
  • The Prince Charles Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site Pis Faye Jordan and David Wood)
  • Queensland Children’s Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site PI Natalie Phillips)
  • Logan Hospital, QLD, Australia (Site PI Brooke Charters)
  • Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, SA, Australia (Site PI Amit Kochar)
  • Austin Health, VIC, Australia (Site PI Robert Millar)
  • Royal Children’s Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Franz Babl)
  • Monash Medical Centre, VIC, Australia (Site PI Simon Craig)
  • Casey Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Alastair Meyer)
  • Barwon Health University Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Megan Hamilton)
  • Angliss Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Paul Buntine)
  • Box Hill Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Paul Buntine)
  • Maroondah Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Paul Buntine)
  • Sunshine Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Doris Tham)
  • The Northern Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Mark Corden)
  • Frankston Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Rosamund Dwyer)
  • Warrnambool Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Tahnee Dunlop)
  • Ballarat Hospital, VIC, Australia (Site PI Elyssia Bourke)
  • Perth Children’s Hospital, WA, Australia (Site PI Meredith Borland)
  • Albany Hospital, WA, Australia (Site PI Matthew Coleman)
  • The Royal Darwin Hospital, NT, Australia (Site PI Sandra Brownlea)
  • Royal Hobart Hospital, TAS, Australia (Site PI Viet Tran)
  • Tauranga Hospital, Tauranga, New Zealand (Site PI Joanne Cole)
  • Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand, (Site PI Stuart Dalziel)

Sample

100 records per site, expected sample of 3000 children and young adults aged<18 years of age.

Contact

Simon.craig@monash.edu