This annual report - Taranaki District Health Board

ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: LATECHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCEThe following section uses data from the Project for the Integration of Mental Health Data(PRIMHD) to explore access to mental health outpatient, community and inpatient servicesfor children and young people with the following mental health diagnoses:Anxiety disordersStress reaction/adjustment disorders Eating disordersThese diagnoses were selected as they were the most commonly assigned in latechildhood and early adolescence to those recorded as accessing mental health servicesin the PRIMHD. In addition, the In-depth Topic commencing on Page 368 reviews mentalhealth issues for children aged 0–14 years in more detail.Data Source and MethodsInformation on the Project for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD) and the DSM-IV codes used inthis analysis is provided in the Access to Mental Health Services: Introduction section on Page 351.Note 1: Because PRIMHD data is configured in a very different way to that contained in the National MinimumDataset (hospital admissions) the reader is urged to review the methods section on Page 351, in order tobecome familiar with the strengths and limitations of PRIMHD.Note 2: The information presented in this year’s report differs from that presented in the NZCYES’ 2009Reports, because of differences in the data collections (PRIMHD vs. the Mental Health Information NationalCollection (MHINC)) and the coding systems used to code mental health diagnoses (in PRIMHD the datareceived were coded in DSM-IV, whereas in MHINC diagnoses were coded using ICD-10-AM).New Zealand DistributionNumbers Accessing ServicesIn addition to the diagnoses reviewed in the section on access to mental health servicesfor children, a number of mental health diagnoses became increasingly common duringlate childhood and early adolescence. During 2009–2011, these included anxietydisorders, stress reaction/adjustment disorders and eating disorders (Table 99). While it islikely that a number of children and young people with these diagnoses would still havetheir care managed in the paediatric outpatient setting (with this workload not beingcaptured by PRIMHD) the extent to which PRIMHD undercounts access to services forthese children and young people may be less than in the previous section, due to the olderage cohort involved (and the likelihood that mental health services rather than paediatricoutpatients would be primarily responsible for their care).Numbers Accessing Services by Diagnosis and AgeAnxiety and Stress Reaction/Adjustment Disorders: In New Zealand during 2009–2011,the number accessing mental health services with anxiety and stress reaction/adjustmentdisorders increased steadily between four and twelve years of age. Numbers thenincreased more rapidly, to reach a peak at fifteen years, before declining again during thelate teens. At each age from five years onwards, the number accessing services withanxiety disorders was higher than the number accessing services with stressreaction/adjustment disorders (Figure 131).Eating Disorders: In New Zealand during 2009–2011, very few children accessed mentalhealth services with eating disorders prior to ten years of age. Numbers then increasedgradually during adolescence, to reach a plateau between fifteen and seventeen years,before declining again in the late teens (Figure 131).Access to Mental Health Services in Children and Young People - 390