title: Child psychiatry, public health policy, and the aggregate burden of suffering.
abstract: We review the parameters for calculating the costs of illness and suggest a framework for understanding how these may apply to various psychiatric disorders of childhood. The costs of childhood psychiatric disorders can best be understood by looking at the prevalence of a given disorder, its duration and severity, whether it be episodic or stable, and how it impacts on the individual, family and community at large. These factors contribute to the "aggregate burden of suffering" associated with any given disorder.
authors.affiliation: Child and Family Studies Centre, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Beitchman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inglis
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schachter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000191:economics; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005190:Family; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics*; D011634:Public Health