Abstract
Background and Objective
There has been increasing emphasis on the role of the pediatrician with respect to
behavioral, learning, and mental health (MH) issues, and developmental behavioral
rotations are now required in pediatric residency programs. We sought to examine whether
this newer emphasis on MH is reflected in pediatricians' reports of their current
practices.
Methods
Data from 2 periodic surveys conducted in 2004 and 2013 by the American Academy of
Pediatrics were examined to see whether there were differences in self-reported behaviors
of usually inquiring/screening, treating/managing/comanaging, or referring patients
for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, behavioral
problems, or learning problems. We examined patterns for all practicing members and
for those who practiced general pediatrics exclusively.
Results
There were few changes over the decade in the percentage who inquired or screened
among all clinicians; among those exclusively practicing general pediatrics, the percentage
who inquired or screened increased about 10% for ADHD and depression. ADHD remained
the only condition for which the majority of respondents treated/managed/comanaged
(57%). While there was some increase in the percentages who treated other conditions,
the other conditions were usually treated by <30% of respondents. A similar pattern
of results was observed in analyses adjusted for physician, practice, and patient
characteristics.
Conclusions
Despite the changing nature of pediatric practice and increased efforts to emphasize
the importance of behavior, learning, and MH, the pediatric community appears to be
making little progress toward providing for the long-term behavioral, learning, and
MH needs of children and adolescents in its care.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: September 05, 2015
Accepted:
August 28,
2015
Received:
May 28,
2015
Footnotes
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
