title: Mental health screening of African American adolescents and facilitated access to care.
abstract: This study retrospectively reviews de-identified records from school-based mental health screening in a predominantly African American community. We compare participation rates, screening results, referrals to services and access to care of white and African American adolescents. Among those offered screening, 20.1% of white students (n = 297), and 28.8% of African American students (n = 499) were screened (χ(2) = 32.47, df = 1, P < .001). African American students (45.1%) were significantly more likely than white students (33.0%), (AOR = 1.59; P = .003) to be identified as being at risk. In both racial groups, most youth accessed the school-based services (89.02%, 95% CI 82.25-95.79) and community services (86.57%, 95% CI 78.41-94.73) to which they were referred. The groups did not differ in the odds of accessing community-based services (AOR = .58; P = .49). African American students were, however, more likely than white students to access school-based services (AOR = 10.08; P = .022). The findings support the effectiveness of screening in school settings in predominantly African American communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10019, USA. mmh2177@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Mathilde M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Husky
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kanter
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olfson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D008603:Mental Health; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011203:Poverty; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044465:White People