Unmet need for services and interventions among adolescents with mental disorders.

摘要

In this issue of the Journal, Costello and colleagues present data on the use of a wide range of mental health services in the Great Smoky Mountain Study-a population-based cohort of 1,420 adolescents in the southeastern United States. The investigators found that two-thirds of youths with mental health needs received no services, and many services that were obtained were done so in agencies not designed to provide mental health care. Their results illustrate how general-population epidemiologic data can be useful for achieving two important public health goals: conducting services research to identify unmet need for effective treatment; and informing the design, testing, and targeting of interventions to address these needs.