Mental health service use and unmet need among BC adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Although the pandemic has revealed clear vulnerabilities in youth mental health, it is unclear whether high-risk groups are accessing services, and which have been left with unmet need. We therefore completed a school-based cross sectional survey of 1,928 BC adolescents to assess characteristics associated with mental health care access and unmet need during the pandemic. We ultimately found substantial unmet need for mental health care services, particularly among youth with signs of depression, anxiety and/or gender and sexual minorities. Interventions aimed at mitigating the mental health impacts of the pandemic should consider expanding outreach to these underserved groups. TEAM Lauren Gorfinkel, Gaelen Snell, David Long, Judy Wu, Mari del Casal, Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Martin Guhn, Hasina Samji

BC CDC Presenters

10/21/2021 7:35:00 PM