Brief Description
Prior research supports the effectiveness of integrating behavioral health services into pediatric care, yet evidence gaps remain with respect to the spectrum of challenges faced by racially and ethnically diverse children who often experience inequities in access to quality healthcare. This study demonstrates that behavioral health integration at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) was associated with improved screening and "warm hand-offs" for same-day behavioral care, expansion of ADHD care, and declines in polypharmacy. The results extend a growing literature supporting the effectiveness of pediatric behavioral health integration to FQHCs, which serve patient population that are diverse with respect to race/ethnicity, culture, language and service needs.
Citation
Sheldrick, R.C., Bair-Merritt, M., Durham, M.P., Rosenberg, J., Tamene, M., Bonacci, C., Daftary, G., Tang, M.H., Sengupta, N., Morris, A., Feinberg, E. Integrating pediatric universal behavioral health care at federally qualified health centers. Pediatrics. 2022;149(4):e2021051822.
