Universal Psychosocial Screening in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: A Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

Introduction

A validated psychosocial self-screening tool, MyHEARTSMAP, was used to screen hospitalized children, who often experience disproportionate mental health burdens. The primary objective compared the proportion of participants receiving psychosocial intervention between those with and without MyHEARTSMAP screening. Secondarily, we explored the utilization of resources at 3 months post-discharge.

Methods

This randomized control trial was conducted in an emergency department, enrolling 289 children being admitted. The intervention group completed MyHEARTSMAP, and results were shared with clinicians. The control group received standard care and completed MyHEARTSMAP following discharge. Health records were reviewed to document in-hospital management. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression modeling were used to evaluate the association between screening and intervention.

Results

Psychosocial intervention rates were higher in the intervention group (40.4%) than the control (32.9%), though this was not significant (RR = 1.28, 95% CI [0.95, 1.73], p = .109). Among those with positive screening results, the intervention group had a statistically significant higher proportion of psychosocial intervention (41.3%) than the control (25.1%) (RR = 1.60, 95% CI [1.04, 2.46], p = .0318). At 3 months post-discharge, engagement with recommended services was overall modest.

Conclusions

Universal screening can identify youth at higher risk of psychosocial burden, and MyHEARTSMAP shows promise as a low-barrier tool for addressing the psychosocial needs of children.

Plain Language Summary

Why was the study done? Hospitalized children often face more mental health challenges than their peers. A visit to the emergency department can be a good opportunity to assess a child's emotional and social well-being. In this study, a self-assessment tool called MyHEARTSMAP was used by children and/or their parents to identify mental health concerns. The main goal was to see whether children who completed the MyHEARTSMAP screening in hospital were more likely to receive mental health support compared to those who didn't. Researchers also examined whether families accessed the recommended supports three months after discharge. What did the researchers do? In a children's emergency department, 289 children being hospitalized were randomly sorted into two groups. One group completed MyHEARTSMAP during the hospital stay, and their results were shared with their care team. The other group received standard care and filled out the tool after discharge. Researchers reviewed hospital records to see what types of support or services were provided and used statistics to test whether completing MyHEARTSMAP was linked to receiving more help for mental or social needs. What did the researchers find? Children who completed MyHEARTSMAP in hospital were more likely to get mental health or social support (40%) than those who didn't (33%), but this difference wasn't big enough to be certain it wasn't due to chance. In all children who showed signs of needing support, those in the MyHEARTSMAP group were significantly more likely to receive support (41%) compared to those in the regular care group (25%). Three months later, only a small number of families followed up with the recommended services. What do the findings mean? Screening all hospitalized children can help doctors identify those struggling with mental or social challenges sooner. MyHEARTSMAP can be a useful tool for identifying and supporting children who show signs of needing extra mental health support.

Introduction

Youth mental health concerns impact everyday function, including the ability to meet milestones, form relationships, and participate in school and community activities (Bardach et al., 2014). There is a disproportionate burden of comorbid mental health concerns among hospitalized youth or those experiencing acute or chronic illness. In a large retrospective study on pediatric hospitalizations, 13.2% of admitted youth experienced a psychiatric comorbidity, which was associated with increased length of stay and hospital costs (Canada, 2015; Doupnik et al., 2016; Kang et al., 2019; Knight et al., 2014). In those with chronic health conditions, the prevalence of psychiatric disorders is greater than in the general pediatric population (Hysing et al., 2007), and up to 26% of youth hospitalized for a non-psychiatric concern have received a diagnosis for a condition affecting their emotional or behavioral health (Doupnik et al., 2017). It is important to ensure optimal health outcomes by addressing both psychiatric and medical concerns (Shafran et al., 2017).

The need for standardized universal mental health screening in hospitalized pediatric populations is widely recognized as a critical need (Garcia et al., 2018). Without routine screening, psychosocial concerns may go undetected, potentially delaying intervention and compromising care. While clinical teams are encouraged to routinely screen for mental health concerns as part of regular care for admitted patients (Suryavanshi, 2016), there is a lack of comprehensive, resource-efficient screening tools. Current tools may include family/social histories and psychosocial screening interview instruments such as H.E.A.D.S.S. (Cohen et al., 1991). However, these do not alleviate prevalent screening barriers as they necessitate personnel involvement (Waller et al., 2023), are overly time-consuming (Kazak et al., 2017), and demand resources. While instruments like the PROMIS-25/PROMIS Parent Proxy or myAssessment (Barrera et al., 2018; Bradford & Rickwood, 2015; Irwin et al., 2012) do not require personnel for assessment, they do not provide psychosocial resource recommendations for disposition planning or youth access. The absence of a systematic and resource-efficient psychosocial screening approach, coupled with reduced screening amongst youth with higher medical needs may result in certain pediatric populations falling through gaps of care.

MyHEARTSMAP is a validated psychosocial self-screening tool designed to address the screening needs of pediatric patients (Doan et al., 2020; Li et al., 2021; Virk et al., 2019). Adapted from the HEARTSMAP emergency clinician assessment (Virk et al., 2018), this tool allows children and their parents/guardians to self- and proxy-report across multiple domains of mental health. Unique to MyHEARTSMAP is the comprehensive analysis of 10 areas of wellbeing: Home, Education and activities, Alcohol and drugs, Relationships and bullying, Thoughts and anxiety, Safety and Sexual health, Mood, Abuse, and Professional resources. Using an electronic device, users answer questions encompassing these areas and select statements scored from 0 for ‘no concern’ to 3 for ‘severe concern’. Scores from each section are mapped to 1 of 4 domains: Psychiatry, Function, Social, and Youth Health. Upon completion, it produces personalized recommendations for local resources to address each concern depending on their reported severity and acuity.

This randomized trial evaluates whether universal psychosocial screening via MyHEARTSMAP influences the proportion of youth receiving psychosocial intervention during their inpatient stay and upon discharge.

Methods

Study Setting and Population

This study was conducted at a tertiary care site, where recruitment occurred in the ED from August 2021 to May 2023. We enrolled children and youth aged 7–17 years old that were local residents and admitted after ED assessment to the inpatient service of general pediatrics, cardiology, nephrology, neurology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, urology, or orthopaedic surgery. We excluded those requiring sustained critical care, presenting with primary mental health concerns, without the capacity to assent or consent, previously enrolled, or without internet access (to complete subsequent surveys). Interpreters were available to accommodate families with language barriers.

Study Design

This prospective two-arm, non-blinded randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of psychosocial screening using the MyHEARTSMAP tool, on the proportion of those who received intervention over the hospitalization. At 3 months post-discharge, participating families completed a follow-up survey to explore their access of mental health resources. The research ethics board granted study approval (H21-01221). Informed consent was obtained from all participants. This study was published on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06553521).

Demographics and Randomization

We collected demographic variables, admitting diagnoses, and past medical history. Ethnicity and gender were self-reported and collected to assess for balanced randomization. Participants were randomized to the intervention or standard of care arm using REDCap (Harris et al., 2009, 2019), with an allocation ratio of 1:1. Randomization was stratified by admitting inpatient services.

Intervention Arm

Participants accessed the MyHEARTSMAP tool on a device and received the treating team’s standard psychosocial assessment. These assessments vary depending on the practice of the admitting care team, but can include evaluation of emotional well-being, coping strategies, and social supports. Participants aged 7 to 9.9 years old required parent/guardian proxy-report. Participants 10 years old and older were eligible for self-report and/or parent proxy-report. Upon completing MyHEARTSMAP, a report containing domain severity scores and personalized recommendations was generated. Reports were printed for the patient chart to be used by the treating team and provided to the families for discussion. The clinical team was informed of the report’s confidentiality and whether it was completed by the youth or parent. For youth self-reports, parents were not present unless the youth consented to their involvement. This confidentiality protocol was clearly communicated to all participating services and clinicians. If participant responses indicated acute safety concerns, providers from the treating team were notified immediately to verify the acuity and severity. Mental health management was incorporated into the care plan per their judgment.

Standard of Care Arm

Participants received only the treating team’s standard psychosocial assessment, if existent. Participants received the MyHEARTSMAP tool via email after discharge. Participant responses that indicated severe or acute safety issues were directed by the tool to crisis lines and EDs for urgent help. Automatic alerts were triggered for the research team and participants were contacted to ensure access the recommended emergency services. A physician investigator was available for further guidance and clinical consultation. If imminent threats to safety were perceived and inadequately addressed in consultation with the principal investigator, research team members would contact pertinent authorities as required.

Data Collection

Upon discharge, health records were reviewed to document if psychosocial support was requested or received. This included consultation of mental health services from psychiatry, clinical psychology, social work, or adolescent medicine. Consultation of other allied mental health services was captured separately (e.g. child life specialists). Data collection occurred through: (1) Chart review of psychosocial interventions and discharge plans; (2) Communication with families to inquire if specialists were consulted for mental health concerns or resources were discussed during discharge planning; (3) Communication with treating teams to ascertain whether any additional resources were discussed.

Parents/guardians were contacted by email at 3 months to complete a follow-up survey indicating their utilization of mental health services outlined in the disposition plan. Survey items consisted of closed-ended yes/no questions and free text responses for perceived barriers to care.

Outcome Measures

The primary outcome was measured by the proportion of participants who received mental health resources or consultation from psychiatry, clinical psychology, social work, adolescent medicine, or other allied mental health services during their in-patient stay or upon discharge planning. Secondary outcomes included the utilization and perception of recommended psychosocial resources or therapeutics by patients at 3 months post-discharge.

Sample Size

In previous studies, approximately 40% of youth who presented to the ED screened positive in at least one domain of HEARTSMAP with specific follow-up recommendations (Doan et al., 2020). We assumed that at least 80% of these would receive recommended services within their hospital stay or referrals at the time of discharge, or 30% of all participants randomized to screening with MyHEARTSMAP. To achieve a power of 80% at a significance level of 0.05 and detect an absolute difference of 15% (or relative difference of 50%) in the proportion of youth who received psychosocial interventions between study arms, we targeted 135 participants per arm.

Statistical Analysis

We used descriptive statistics to summarize patients by treatment arm and ordinal logistic regression models to assess the prevalence of psychosocial issues between study arms with the expectation that rates would be similar between arms (as this was a baseline measure).

Logistic regression modeling evaluated the effect of screening on receiving psychosocial interventions as part of their in-patient care or discharge planning, adjusted for age, sex, and current general and mental health status. We reported marginal risk ratios and differences, and corresponding 95% confidence intervals with standard errors estimated by the delta-method (Naimi & Whitcomb, 2020). Effect modification of the intervention was assessed by type of admission specialty and illness chronicity by including interactions within the treatment arm in our logistic regression models. The primary analysis was repeated in the subgroup that screened positive for any psychiatric, social, youth health, function, or abuse concern identified by MyHEARTSMAP. As child life services provide both procedural support and psychosocial intervention, we conducted sensitivity analyses that excluded child-life intervention unrelated to mental health concerns and all child-life specialist intervention.

We used descriptive statistics to summarize 3-month outcomes with mental health support service recommendations and perceived barriers of accessing mental health services by patients lacking support. All analyses were conducted using R statistical software version 4.0.4.

Results

Between August 2021 to May 2023, 3,131 patients being considered for admission were screened and 2,429 of those patients were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria or meeting the exclusion criteria. Of the remaining 702 patients eligible for recruitment, 289 were consented and randomized: 145 to the standard of care arm and 144 to the MyHEARTSMAP intervention arm. The final analysis population included 143 patients in the standard of care arm and 141 in the intervention arm (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

CONSORT diagram.

(a) Outside of age range, not local resident, admitted under non-partnered specialty, no guardian, no translator. (b) Previously enrolled, ICU admission, primary psychiatric concern, unable to consent/assent, no internet. (c) Provider advised against approach, insufficient enrolment time. (d) Pain, tired, or uninterested in research. (e) Unable to reach via email or phone

Almost half (49.5%) of the participants were female, with a median age of 12 years (IQR = 10–15). The majority (52.5%) were of European Origin and heterosexual (70.4%). Most participants were admitted under the general pediatric unit, Clinical Teaching Unit (36.9% of total admissions). Baseline data were broadly balanced between trial arms, with the only exception being a higher rate of patients with chronic conditions needing regular healthcare in the standard of care arm (19.6%) compared to the intervention arm (11.3%) (Table 1). Nearly all (99%) patients in the intervention group completed the intervention screen at presentation in the ED, while 83 participants (58.0%) in the standard of care completed the screening post-discharge via an emailed link.

Table 1.

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Enrolled Youth by Trial Arm

Characteristics and categories	Standard of care (n = 143)	MyHEARTSMAP (n = 141)
Sex n (%)
Female	72 (50.3%)	69 (48.9%)
Male	69 (48.3%)	72 (51.1%)
Prefer not to say	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)
Gender n (%)
Female	68 (47.6%)	68 (48.2%)
Male	70 (49.0%)	70 (49.6%)
Alternative response a	4 (2.8%)	2 (1.4%)
Prefer not to say	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)
Age (years) n (% or IQR)
7–9	37 (25.9%)	31 (22.0%)
10–13	52 (36.4%)	62 (44.0%)
14–17	54 (37.8%)	48 (34.0%)
Median age	12 (9–15)	12 (10–14)
Ethnicity n (%)
East/South/Southeast Asian	40 (28.0%)	39 (27.7%)
European	81 (56.6%)	68 (48.2%)
Indigenous	3 (2.1%)	11 (7.8%)
Latin America	1 (0.7%)	3 (2.1%)
Sub-Saharan Africa/Afro-Caribbean	3 (2.1%)	2 (1.4%)
West central Asian/Middle eastern	6 (4.2%)	5 (3.5%)
Mixed	9 (6.3%)	9 (6.4%)
Prefer not to say	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.8%)
Sexual orientation n (%)
Heterosexual	100 (69.9%)	100 (70.9%)
Alternative response b	18 (12.6%)	15 (10.6%)
Prefer not to say	25 (17.5%)	26 (18.4%)
Current health status n (%)
New diagnosis of a chronic medical condition	23 (16.1%)	35 (24.8%)
Chronic but stable medical condition	14 (9.8%)	16 (11.3%)
Chronic with frequent or regular healthcare needs	28 (19.6%)	16 (11.3%)
None of the above	78 (54.5%)	74 (52.5%)
Mental health status n (%)
No known or diagnosed mental health conditions	121 (84.6%)	121 (85.8%)
Chronic but stable mental health condition	18 (12.6%)	17 (12.1%)
Chronic with frequent or regular exacerbations	4 (2.8%)	2 (1.4%)
Missing data	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)
Canadian triage and acuity scale level n (%)
1 (resuscitation)	5 (.5%)	4 (2.8%)
2 (emergent)	75 (52.4%)	67 (47.5%)
3 (urgent)	59 (41.3%)	65 (46.1%)
4 (less urgent)	4 (2.8%)	5 (3.5%)
5 (nonurgent)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)
Admission specialty n (%)
Clinical teaching unit (general pediatrics)	51 (35.7%)	54 (38.3%)
Medical pediatric sub-specialtiesc	39 (27.3%)	42 (29.8%)
Surgical specialtiesd	53 (37.0%)	45 (31.9%)
Median admission duration n
Number of days	3	3

^aIncludes: non-binary, gender fluid, bigender, polygender, two-spirited, another gender identity, and questioning or unsure.

^bIncludes: homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, monosexual, asexual, demisexual, another sexual orientation, and questioning or unsure.

^cIncludes: endocrinology, nephrology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology.

^dIncludes: orthopaedics, general surgery, urology.

Among the 224 participants who completed the MyHEARTMAP tool, the prevalence of mental health concerns identified by the screening was comparable between arms (75.9% in intervention and 77.1% in control) (Table 2). Approximately 15% of participants had a pre-existing mental health diagnosis in either arm (Table 1). Overall, 104/284 (36.6%) of participants received psychosocial intervention during their in-patient stay or upon discharge planning, with 47/143 (32.9%) in the standard of care arm compared to 57/141 (40.4%) in the intervention arm (Table 3). While screening with MyHEARTSMAP was associated with a higher likelihood of receiving psychosocial resources, this was not statistically significant (RR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.95 to 1.73, p = .109) (Table 3). Among those who screened positive for any psychosocial concern, participants in the intervention arm were significantly more likely to receive psychosocial interventions (RR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.04 to 2.46, p = .0318) (Table 3). Table S1 shows a complete breakdown of the primary outcome by component. Sensitivity analyses assessing the impact of child life services on the intervention’s outcomes showed no statistically significant effects. (Table S2).

Table 2.

Comparison of Psychosocial Self-Assessments for Hospitalized Youth Presenting to the Emergency Department Using MyHEARTSMAP

Psychometric property by subcategories	Standard of care (N = 83)	MyHEARTSMAP (N = 141)
Psychiatric concerns, n (%)
Severe	3 (3.6%)	3 (2.1%)
Moderate	14 (16.9%)	17 (12.1%)
Mild	47 (56.6%)	87 (61.7%)
No issues	19 (22.9%)	34 (24.1%)
Social concerns, n (%)
Severe	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Moderate	3 (3.6 %)	7 (5%)
Mild	44 (53%)	84 (59.6%)
No issues	36 (43.4%)	50 (35.5%)
Youth health concerns, n (%)
Severe	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Moderate	0 (0%)	1 (0.7%)
Mild	36 (43.4%)	55 (39%)
No issues	47 (56.6%)	85 (60.3%)
Function concerns, n (%)
Severe	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Moderate	3 (3.6%)	7 (5%)
Mild	38 (45.8%)	65 (46.1%)
No issues	42 (50.6%)	69 (48.9%)

Table 3.

Proportion of Patients Receiving Psychosocial Intervention Over the In-Patient Stay by Category Type

	Standard of care (N = 143)	MyHEARTSMAP (N = 141)	Risk ratio (95% CI)	Risk difference (95% CI)	p-value
Overall pooled	47 (32.9%)	57 (40.4%)	1.28 (0.95, 1.73)	0.09 (−0.02, 0.20)	0.109
Positive screens a	18/72 (25.1%)	50/121 (41.3%)	1.60 (1.04, 2.46)	0.15 (0.03, 0.28)	0.0318
Admission specialty
General pediatrics	19/51 (37.3%)	31/54 (57.4%)	1.49 (0.99, 2.24)	0.18 (0.00, 0.37)	0.058
Medical pediatric	19/39 (48.7%)	18/42 (42.9%)	0.89 (0.56, 1.41)	−0.06 (−0.27, 0.16)	0.607
Sub-specialties b surgical specialties c	9/53 (17%)	8/45 (17.8%)	1.28 (0.54, 3.03)	0.04 (−0.11, 0.20)	0.568
Illness chronicity
New diagnosis of a chronic medical condition	31/96 (32.3%)	37/104 (35.6%)	1.15 (0.72, 1.57)	0.05 (−0.08, 0.18)	0.501
Chronic but stable medical condition	10/24 (41.7%)	12/21 (57.1%)	1.41 (0.94, 1.89)	0.15 (0.01, 0.29)	0.086
Chronic with frequent or regular healthcare needs	6/23 (26.1%)	8/16 (50%)	1.86 (0.60, 3.12)	0.25 (−0.02, 0.52)	0.180

^aIncludes those who screened positive for any psychiatric, social, youth health, function, or abuse concern.

^bIncludes: endocrinology, nephrology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology.

^cIncludes: orthopaedics, general surgery, urology.

At the 3-month follow-up, 192/224 participants (85.7%) completed the follow-up survey with comparable completion rates between study arms for recall of recommended services, agreement with screening results, and follow-through with recommendations (Figure 2). In addition to those introduced to psychosocial resources during their hospitalization, 9.4% (18/192) of those with service recommendations engaged with these resources after discharge, and 13.0% (25/192) involved their family physician or pediatrician. (Figure 2). Barriers to accessing mental health support included financial burden, lack of transportation, waitlist times, personal availability, and lack of knowledge in accessing these services (Table S3).

Figure 2.

3-Month referral outcome comparison between study group participants with MH support service recommendations

Discussion

Our study assessed the association between psychosocial screening upon admission with MyHEARTSMAP and the proportion of those who received psychosocial intervention during hospitalization and discharge planning. While receiving mental health screening upon admission was not significantly associated with increased psychosocial intervention when assessing the overall pooled sample of participants, the intervention group had a significantly higher rate of psychosocial intervention compared to the control group when limiting the analyses to only those who screened positive for any psychosocial concern. At 3 months post-discharge, we observed comparable recall rates for recommended psychosocial services between study groups, with modest engagement with mental health services or involvement of primary care providers. Cited barriers to accessing mental health services included financial constraints, transportation, wait times, patient availability, and limited resource knowledge.

Over 76% of youth in our sample reported psychosocial concerns, emphasizing the importance of universal screening as part of the admission process. Knight et al. (2014) also reported a large proportion of those who screen positive for mental health concerns in hospital settings have never been previously identified. In DeVylder et al.’s (2019) study comparing universal screening to selective screening for suicidal risk, patient benefit from risk detection was greater if universal screening was applied. Screening irrespective of the specificity resulted in improved risk detection compared to the standard of care, underscoring the importance of universal screening regardless of presenting chief complaint.

Youth with chronic illnesses are at risk for under-screening of mental health concerns and have a higher incidence of anxiety and depression (Orth & van Wyk, 2021; Santos et al., 2015). Universal psychosocial screening is essential to address the needs of these populations. In a randomized control trial by Barrera et al. (2020), the effect of psychosocial screening on caregivers’ mental health in pediatric cancer was investigated. In their study, both arms completed a psychosocial assessment at time of diagnosis and 6 months later, but only the intervention arm had their screening information provided to treating teams (Barrera et al., 2020). At 6 months, there was no significant difference in outcomes when assessing the pooled sample of depression and anxiety symptoms. However, when considering the intervention effect relative to psychosocial risk, caregivers in the “high-risk” subgroup in the intervention group had significantly lower depression scores than “high-risk” controls at 6 months (Ms 6.68 vs. 9.76). Similar trends were seen with anxiety scores between the intervention and control (Ms 9.36 vs. 11.34) (Barrera et al., 2020). Our study observed possible increased benefit of intervention in those at higher risk for psychosocial ailments, such as children with stable chronic illness or chronic illness with frequent healthcare needs. However, the confidence intervals included null values (RR = 1.86, 95% CI [0.60, 3.12] and RR = 1.41, 95% CI [0.94, 1.89] respectively), indicating statistical insignificance. The observed direction of these effects is consistent with early screening and communication of results being beneficial for high-risk populations, but these findings are exploratory and require confirmation in larger studies.

Less than 10% of participants engaged with recommended resources from psychosocial screening when surveyed at the 3-month follow-up. This pattern is consistent with the findings of Marshall et al.’s (2024) systematic review, where despite high uptake of psychosocial screening, under 40% of children who were identified as high-risk engaged with recommended psychosocial resources. Similarly, a cross-sectional study by Sheridan et al. (2021) examined patients discharged from the pediatric ED with mental health complaints and found that 10% of these patients were unable to establish outpatient follow-up care six months post-discharge, primarily due to concerns about provider availability. Our study identified additional barriers, including costs of services and lack of knowledge about mental health services, which were echoed by Collopy et al.’s (2021) interviews with pediatric patients with cardiovascular diseases and comorbid mental health issues. These findings highlight significant challenges in the follow-up and utilization of recommended mental health services, emphasizing the need to address these barriers to improve care continuity and access. Possible pathways for follow-up could be improved by offering virtual or low-cost options, brief automated check-ins, and access to a social worker or care coordinator to help families schedule appointments and navigate services. MyHEARTSMAP can also serve as a tool to improve mental health literacy, helping families understand their child’s needs and the available resources. Together, these steps can bridge the gap between screening and service use, improving continuity of care for children with identified psychosocial needs.

Limitations

This study sample was drawn from a single tertiary pediatric health center, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to broader pediatric populations. The study’s extended duration also presented challenges, particularly due to a transition from paper charts to electronic medical records about one-third of the way through the study. During this transition, MyHEARTSMAP reports, which were printed on paper, were not always readily accessible to physicians as they transitioned to the new electronic medical record system (Chong et al., 2024). To address this, trained research assistants ensured that treating teams were aware of and reviewed the MyHEARTSMAP reports.

The study period included the COVID-19 pandemic period and public health protocols restricted non-essential allied mental health services, such as child life, until mid-2022. To address this limitation, sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the impact of child life services on the intervention’s outcomes (Table S2). Finally, under 60% of participants in the standard of care arm completed the MyHEARTSMAP tool post-discharge. Given the similar prevalence of psychosocial concerns in the standard of care and intervention groups, we trust that the observed difference in receiving psychosocial resources among those who screened positive is attributable to exposure to the intervention, as randomized.

Conclusion

This study’s findings demonstrate that universal mental health screening can help identify those placed at higher risk of mental health burden, prompting the treating team to request psychosocial services as needed. MyHEARTSMAP demonstrates potential as a low-barrier tool for clinicians of varying backgrounds to address both physical and mental health needs, promoting holistic care of pediatric patients in a hospital setting.

Author Biographies

Rebecca Liu is a fourth-year medical student at the University of British Columbia. Upon graduation, she is interested in pursuing family medicine and hopes to make primary care more accessible through art and visual literacy. Her other research work focuses on the creation of medical illustrations for various case studies and systematic reviews.

Alyssa Chong is a doctoral student in the UBC Women+ and Children's Health Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on evaluating the construct validity of a novel AI-derived physician workload metric in the pediatric emergency department, and examining how physician-level intrinsic factors and system-level outcomes intersect to shape measured workload.

Dr. Jeffrey N. Bone is a biostatistician who currently leads the biostatistical services at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. His work spans a variety of clinical and methodological disciplines and he maintains several long standing partnerships with a variety of clinical investigators and research teams from a many subspecialties.

Dr. Ian Pierce completed his medical school at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is currently a general surgery resident at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Dr. Sydney Sparanese completed her medical school at the University of British Columbia, where she is currently a resident physician in internal medicine.

Tanner March is a registered nurse with a wide variety of experience in the hospital, including medical surgical nurse, inpatient resource nurse, critical care resource nurse, and emergency department nurse.

Dr. Kathryn Armstrong is a pediatric cardiologist with a special interest in heart function and transplant medicine. She is interested in disease processes and management of children with end stage heart failure and pediatric heart transplantation. She also has an interest in exercise physiology and quality of life especially in children following heart transplant.

Dr. Robert Baird is a clinical scientist, whose research focuses has direct clinical relevance to his area of practice, pediatric surgery. He engages in systematic reviews of available evidence and performs high impact single or multi-institutional clinical trials concerning congenital or acquired surgical conditions in children.

Dr. Anthony Cooper is an orthopaedic surgeon whose research interests range from studies involving paediatric hip, lower limbs, feet, trauma, and bone tumours. He is specifically interested in advancing research around paediatric bone health and mobility. In addition to looking at the clinical outcomes, he is also interested in looking at the outcomes reported directly by the patients or caregivers of patients, specifically their quality of life.

Dr. Michelle Demos is a pediatric neurologist and neurogeneticist. Her research involves the collaboration of other clinicians and researchers from Neurology and Medical Genetics at BC Children's Hospital. The main focus involves studying the different genetic causes of pediatric epilepsy including familial forms of epilepsy and genomic imbalances associated with epilepsy.

Dr. Janis Dionne is a pediatric nephrologist whose research looks to identify children with impaired kidney function early and manage the disease to prevent adverse outcomes including poor growth, malnutrition, high blood pressure, bone disease, and cardiovascular disease. Her goal is to monitor the children that have been identified as having chronic kidney disease over time to identify areas for improvement in their healthcare and quality of life.

Dr. Alice Foster is a pediatric gastroenterologist involved with clinical studies involving patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She has a particular interest in, and is leading projects related to, the successful transition of IBD patients from pediatric to adult care.

Dr. Soojin Kim is a pediatric urologist whose research focuses on patient-centered outcomes and quality improvement. Her research evaluates all direct and indirect factors that affect patients’ health service experiences.

Dr. Constandina Panagiotopoulos is a pediatric endocrinologist whose research spans both type 1 and type 2 childhood diabetes.She is the Clinical Core Leader of a Team in Childhood Autoimmunity at BC Children’s Hospital, where she has developed a provincial biobank/ clinical registry for childhood type 1 diabetes. In the area of type 2 diabetes, her research focus is on vulnerable and “at-risk” populations – including Aboriginal youth, and children with mental health challenges.

Dr. Quynh Doan is a clinical scientist in pediatric emergency medicine and health services research. She is currently the Senior Executive Director at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. Her program of research explores pediatric mental health care delivery efficacy and effectiveness, as part of a holistic approach to children's health needs.

ORCID iDs

Rebecca Liu https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2711-0813

Alyssa Chong https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3977-3620

Sydney Sparanese https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6930-9717

Janis Dionne https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4926-3218

Ethical Considerations

This study was approved by the University of British Columbia Research Ethics Board on July 26, 2021 (approval #H21-01221).

Consent to Participate

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent for Publication

Informed consent for publication was provided by all participants.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study will not be made available due to the sensitive nature of data collected regarding mental health.*