Child psychiatric epidemiology and Canadian public policy-making: the state of the science and the art of the possible.
Epidemiological studies have characterized the high burden of suffering that child psychiatric disorders cause--14% of children (1.1 million in Canada) have clinically important disorders at any given time. In this review, we summarize the recent research and discuss several unresolved scientific issues that must be addressed to make epidemiology more useful to policy-makers. We then discuss implications for policy-making to improve children's mental health outcomes. Overall, given the high prevalence rates, increasing clinical services alone will not suffice; rather, a multifaceted mix of strategies is required.
Waddell
Charlotte
C
Mental Health Evaluation and Community Consultation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2250 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1W6. cwaddell@interchange.ubc.ca
Offord
David R
DR
Shepherd
Cody A
CA
Hua
Josephine M
JM
McEwan
Kimberley
K
D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011640:Public Policy