Pediatric Referrals to Psychiatry: II. Factors Relating to Delays in Referral

Abstract

Delays in requesting psychiatric consultation were examined, in relation to 220 referrals from a medical ward in a pediatric hospital, to determine why children referred for psychiatric evaluation remained in hospital longer than the nonreferred. Request delays did not correlate with age, sex, or length of hospitalization, but were likely to be shorter for acutely ill patients and those whose admission diagnosis evidenced the pediatrician's awareness of the possibility of significant emotional factors. The onus may be on the psychiatrist to increase the medical staff's awareness of the possibility that emotional factors often contribute to their patient's ills. This increased awareness may result in prompt referrals to psychiatry, and shorter, less costly hospitalization.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Awad

G. A.

and Poznanski

E. O.

, Psychiatric Consultations in a Pediatric Hospital, Amer. J. Psychiat., 132, pp. 915–918, 1975.

Monnelly

E. P.

Ianzito

B. M.

and Stewart

M. A.

, Psychiatric Consultations in a Children's Hospital, Amer. J. Psychiat., 130, pp. 789–790, 1973.

Froese

A. P.

, Pediatric Referrals to Psychiatry: I. Comparison of Referrals and Nonreferrals, Int. J. Psychiat. in Med., 7, pp. 241–247, 1976–77.

Pless

I. B.

Satterwhite

and Van Vechten

, Chronic Illness in Childhood: A Regional Survey of Care, Pediatrics, 58, pp. 37–46, 1976.