BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

This indicator reports the number of inpatient hospitalizations in Orange County among children under age 18 related to serious mental health and substance use conditions. The data include rates of inpatient hospitalization for broad behavioral health conditions and rates of inpatient hospitalization per 10,000 children broken down by behavioral health diagnosis, race/ethnicity and city of residence.

The presence of behavioral health disorders can have a profound impact on individuals and families, as well as systems within the community such as schools or the juvenile justice system. By tracking hospitalization rates related to behavioral health disorders, health officials can more readily identify trends and monitor the needs of the community while directing needed resources (e.g., training, education, counseling, outreach, substance abuse treatment) to areas in need. For example, an increase in hospitalization rates due to depression may signal a serious trend in a local community, leading to interventions to counteract the increase in mood disorders and potential substance use.

• The combined hospitalization rate for serious mental illness and substance abuse conditions for children increased by 52%, from a low of 16.7 in 2008 to 25.4 per 10,000 children in 2017.

• The hospitalization rate for serious mental illness increased 87%, from a low of 11.3 in 2008 to 21.1 per 10,000 children in 2017.

• Major Depression and Mood Disorders accounted for two-thirds (68%) of all such hospitalizations, followed by Bipolar (10%), Schizophrenia/Psychoses (4%) and Schizoaffective Disorders (1%).

• Hospitalizations for substance-related diagnoses accounted for 2% of all such admissions for children in 2017. This proportion is a decrease of 76% over the past decade to 0.4 hospitalizations per 10,000 population.

• White children accounted for 42% of all mental illness and substance abuse-related hospitalizations, Hispanic children accounted for 39%, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander (8%) children.

• While females comprise 49% of the total population under age 18, they accounted for over half (56%) of substance-related hospitalizations, the majority (63%) of mental illness hospitalizations and 63% of all admissions.

• Slightly more than half (56%) of the 2,022 hospitalizations among Orange County children occurred at hospitals located in Orange County, while the rest were in neighboring counties of Los Angeles (29%), San Bernardino (15%), San Diego (1%) and Ventura (<1%) counties. The majority of these hospitalizations were covered by private insurance (45%) and Medi-Cal (51%).

• In 2016, 13.2% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had at least one major depressive episode in California1 and 12.8% in the United States.2 Overall, both proportions were higher than previous years between 2008 to 2016 (ranging from 8.3 to 12.8%).

Mental Health and Substance Abuse-Related Hospitalizations, Rate per 10,000 Children, 2008 to 2017

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Source: Orange County Health Care Agency, Health Policy - Research

Note: ‘Other’ includes mental disorders such as other unspecified mood disorders, conduct disorders and disorders related to sleep, eating, elimination and pain.

Mental Health Hospitalization Rates per 10,000 Children, by Race/Ethnicity

2017

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• Hispanic

Source: Orange County Health Care Agency, Health Policy - Research

Note: Rates for black children are not included due to unstable and unreliable estimates for small case numbers and populations. ‘Other Mental Disorders’ includes disorders such as other unspecified mood disorders, conduct disorders and disorders related to sleep, eating, elimination and pain.

Rate of Orange County Hospitalizations for Mental Health and Substance Abuse per 10,000 Children, by City of Residence,

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