The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) has alerted of the situation of “absolute emergency“in which the mental health of children and adolescents in the country due to the increase in disorders that have been recorded in recent years, especially after the arrival of the Covid-19.
“If before the pandemic the situation was already complicatedsince approximately 10 percent of children and the 20 percent of teenagers suffered from some kind of mental disorderthe current scenario is absolute emergencysince the figure has skyrocketed to a 47 percent since then,” said the coordinator of the Mental Health Committee of the Spanish Pediatric Association, Paula Armeroduring a press conference held in Madrid this Thursday.
Thus, from the AEP They ensure that the mental illness figures among this sector of the population they haven’t stopped growing in recent years and point out that the 95 percent of pediatricians have detected it in their consultations, according to an analysis published in Annals of Pediatrics.
Besides, Gunsmith has stressed that these problems that occur in young people and adolescents are reflected in “symptoms of depression, eating disorders, self-harm, anxiety and behavioral changes“. As well as “disorders derived from conflictive separations between parents“he added.
However, what worries experts most at the moment are the bullying cases and through social networks. “Where minors spend the most time is in schools and institutes. If that environment is not safe, it greatly affects how they develop into adulthood,” he explained. Gunsmithwhile recalling that “minors need to be treated with respect by their own peers“.
For his part, the president of the Society of Child Psychiatry (SPI), Pedro J. Rodríguezhas shown its concern with cases related to harassment through social networks. “Overuse of screens has produced an important part of the adolescent socialization be it through the social networkswhich have replaced other types of social relations. That feeling of impunity generated by being behind a screen means that cases of harassment on social networks“, he stated.
“Every day we have more evidence that screens are not used appropriately and networks, but not that a abuse of them“he added Gunsmith.
MANIFESTO TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION
For all this, and under the motto ‘Pediatrics and mental health: building healthy futures’the 13,000 pediatricians that make up the AEP they wanted to make a call to action given the situation of the child and adolescent mental health.
Thus, on the occasion of Pediatrics Daywhich is celebrated on October 8have prepared a manifest aimed at health, educational and social authorities and institutions in which they are raised. proposals to face this crisis and stop the increase in cases during the early stages of life.
In the manifesto, the AEP warns about the increase in these disorderswhich considers that it is a emergency in professional consultations. To do this, they believe it is necessary to implement mental health prevention programs from the first levels of care.
They also consider that lack of specialized mental health professionals. “It is difficult to say a specific number of professionals needed in the specialty.but we calculate that a 20 percent more throughout Spain“he pointed out Rodriguez.
In this sense, the vice president of Primary Care of the AEP, William Martinhas lamented that “patients, at least in Madrid, can have Waiting lists of between 6 and 9 months to be treated for the first time“.
Likewise, the manifest ask for one multidisciplinary care; act in time due to the increase in the severity of the cases, and highlights the importance of the role of families in the child mental health.
RECOGNITION OF PEDIATRIC SPECIALTIES
The last point of the manifesto has to do with the recognition of pediatric specialties. At this point, from the AEP they point out that the recognition of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as a specialty it has been “one step forward that responds to the evolution of scientific knowledge already the growing healthcare demand in this area”.
But they consider that it is “insufficient“to face current challenges.”In Spain, consultations for pediatric specialties have already been created that do not yet have official recognitioneven though the AEP has been claiming it for more than a decade,” they point out.
In this way, they emphasize that the lack of recognition hinders the proper training of professionals and the organization of healthcare resourceshence “The procedures to achieve this officialization should be much more simplified.“.
Currently, the specialties of Neonatology, Intensive Care, Emergencies, Pediatric Endocrinology and Neurology have received approval from the National Commission of the Specialty of Pediatrics to be recognized as Specific Training Areas (ACE)but they are still trying to get favorable reports and economic studies from seven autonomous communities different ones established as a requirement by Royal Decree 589/2022of July 19, which regulates the transversal training of specialties in Health Sciences. Other pediatric disciplines are turning to alternative ways to achieve their officialization through the continuing education diploma.
“Protect the physical and mental health of children and adolescents is a priority on which we must all work together. We urge the health authorities, health, educational and social service managers already society as a wholeto support this cause and provide the necessary resources to build a healthy future for our next generations”, concluded the president of the AEP, Luis Carlos Blesa.