Mental health services for children in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of an expert-based national survey among child and adolescent psychiatric hospitals

Excerpt

An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan (Hubei, China) at the end of 2019, and subsequently spread worldwide. Currently, over 200 countries and 2,000,000 people are infected by COVID-19 [1]. In China, a large number of hospitals have to take precautions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Medical services have been affected seriously, and numerous patients with many disorders/diseases have had to cancel their original plans to be hospitalized [2]. With the outbreak of COVID-19, mental health care has attracted more attention, especially for children [3], begging several questions: how to provide mental health care to children diagnosed with COVID-19, how to take care of non-infected children during quarantine? How much has the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental health services in China and how to provide regular services to youths with mental disorders? To address these issues, the Chinese Society of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry conducted a survey on the situation of hospitals which provide mental health services for children in China; data were ascertained between March 20 and April 1. Moreover, experts’ suggestions for mental health care of children during the pandemic were also collected. To state the suggestions for different groups of children clearly, the term “infected children” is defined as the children diagnosed with COVID-19 and the term “affected children” is defined as non-infected children who suffer home quarantine, social distancing, school closures, anxiety, etc. during the outbreak of COVID-19. …