Many U.S. children who have mental health conditions are not receiving care they may need, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics found.
The researchers used data from a survey of over 50,000 U.S. parents with children under 18 to estimate how many kids are getting care for mental health conditions.
They estimated that more than 16 percent of children have a mental health condition, but about half of them did not receive the treatment or counseling they need.
This was especially prevalent in certain U.S. states, including North Carolina, where an estimated 72 percent of children with treatable mental health conditions did not get needed care.
The study findings signal a need for policy changes to improve patient access to mental healthcare, the researchers concluded.