Suicide-Related ER Visits In Children Rise, But Many Hospitals Lack Specialized Mental Health Care

Key TakeawaysSuicide-related ER visits among children spiked in recent yearsVisits related to suicide or self-harm rose by 74% between 2016 and 2022Half of the visits occurred in hospitals that treat fewer children and have less resources.WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) — ER visits by children suffering suicide-related crises jumped before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says.Emergency department visits among children involving self-harm or suicide rose by 74% between 2016 and 2022, researchers reported Sept. 3 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Worse, the ERs in which these kids landed often weren’t prepared to deal with children in need of mental health treatment, researchers said.About half of suicide-related ER visits and half of all children’s mental health ER visits occurred in hospitals that treat fewer kids, the study found.“Our findings underscore the need to equip every ED — not only large pediatric centers — with tools and resources to provide evidence-based mental health care,” lead researcher Dr. Audrey Brewer said in a news release. She is an assistant professor of advanced pediatrics and primary care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Strengthening mental and behavioral health capacity across all emergency care settings is essential to ensuring children receive timely, effective and equitable care,” Brewer said.For the new study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 5.4 million mental-health-related ER visits that occurred between 2016 and 2022 among children between 5 and 17 years of age.Results showed that all child mental health-driven ER visits increased by 24% during that period.The most frequent diagnoses were suicide or self-injury (24%) and depressive disorders (23%).Half of these ER visits occurred at hospitals that treated fewer than 10,000 children a year, researchers found.At hospitals that treated the fewest children, close to 30% of kids seen for mental health problems wound up being transferred to other hospitals.“Transfer to another hospital for pediatric mental health care often means a prolonged wait in the ED, sometimes lasting days, increasing the burden on children and their families,” senior researcher Dr. Jennifer Hoffmann, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said in a news release.Researchers said the study points to the need for changes.All ERs need additional training and access to pediatric mental health professionals, either in the hospital or via telehealth, Brewer said. They also should screen all children for suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and provide follow-up care options and clear plans for parents if there are concerns, she added.“To improve care, ED-based mental health interventions need to be developed and tested for children of color, since many have not been studied in diverse populations,” Brewer said. “Delivering culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions for children in the community and outpatient primary care settings can help to potentially lessen ED reliance for mental health care and may help reduce disparities in youth mental health outcomes.”If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, expert and confidential advice is available 24/7 through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.More informationThe Kids Mental Health Foundation has more on talking to kids about suicide.SOURCES: Northwestern University, news release, Sept. 4, 2026; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, news release, Sept. 4, 2026 .What This Means For YouSuicide-related ER visits among children have increased dramatically in recent years..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Suicide-Related ER Visits In Children Rise, But Many Hospitals Lack Specialized Mental Health Care

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