title: The effect of geographic moves on mental healthcare utilization in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Geographic moves have been reported to have a negative impact on the mental health of children, but it is often difficult to separate the effect of the move from the circumstances that impelled it. Military populations may offer a way to examine this issue. Moves are common in military families, but parental employment and healthcare coverage remain constant.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children of military parents with geographic moves in 2008 were compared with those without geographic moves with regard to the odds of mental health service use in 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study included 548,336 children aged 6-17 years, and 179,486 (25%) children moved in 2008. Children aged 6-11 years with a geographic move had higher odds of mental health and outpatient visits (odds ratio [OR] 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.06). Children aged 12-17 years with a geographic move had higher odds of mental outpatient visits (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01-1.07), psychiatric hospitalizations (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.07-1.32), and emergency psychiatric visits (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.07-1.32).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children with a geographic move in the previous year have increased odds of mental health encounters. Among adolescents, this increase extends to psychiatric hospitalizations and emergency visits.
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California. Electronic address: jhmilleg@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Millegan
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McLay
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Engel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008889:Military Personnel; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D014186:Transportation; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Geographic moves; Mental health; Military