Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico
Specialized mental health services (SMHS) should be accessible to all populations. This study investigated the accessibility of public SMHS for children and adolescent patients, as well as their caregivers, in Mexico. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 400 patient–caregiver dyads receiving...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Psychiatry International |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/6/2/72 |
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| author | Lina Díaz-Castro Carlos Pineda-Antunez Christian Díaz de León-Castañeda Héctor Cabello-Rangel José Alberto Barrón-Cantú José Carlos Suarez-Herrera |
| author_facet | Lina Díaz-Castro Carlos Pineda-Antunez Christian Díaz de León-Castañeda Héctor Cabello-Rangel José Alberto Barrón-Cantú José Carlos Suarez-Herrera |
| author_sort | Lina Díaz-Castro |
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| description | Specialized mental health services (SMHS) should be accessible to all populations. This study investigated the accessibility of public SMHS for children and adolescent patients, as well as their caregivers, in Mexico. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 400 patient–caregiver dyads receiving care at two primary SMHS facilities. The survey included indicators within four dimensions of accessibility: (1) organizational entry into SMHS; (2) organizational processes within SMHS; (3) ecological factors; (4) financial aspects. Additionally, six outcome variables were explored, including perceived health conditions and quality of care indicators. A principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized to construct four accessibility indices. Subsequently, multiple linear regression models were applied to examine the relationship between these accessibility indices and the outcome variables. Several indicators yielded notable results. The average emergency ward waiting time was 74.3 min (SD = 95.99), the post-hospitalization wait time was 1.28 weeks (SD = 1.85), and the average medical costs amounted to 962.6 Mexican pesos (SD = 2555.1). Several of the tested relationships between accessibility indices and outcome variables were statistically significant; organizational processes within SMHS and financial indices had a higher number of these significant relationships. These findings highlight the significant challenges in improving accessibility to public SMHS for children and adolescents in Mexico. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ac7b852e2a646dc9b72f1426bea7619 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-5318 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Psychiatry International |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ac7b852e2a646dc9b72f1426bea76192025-08-20T03:27:22ZengMDPI AGPsychiatry International2673-53182025-06-01627210.3390/psychiatryint6020072Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in MexicoLina Díaz-Castro0Carlos Pineda-Antunez1Christian Díaz de León-Castañeda2Héctor Cabello-Rangel3José Alberto Barrón-Cantú4José Carlos Suarez-Herrera5Department of Epidemiological and Psychosocial Research, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, MexicoThe Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA“Researchers for Mexico”, Ministry for Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (SECIHTI), Mexico City 03940, MexicoResearch Department, Psychiatric Hospital “Fray Bernardino Álvarez”, Mexico City 14080, MexicoPsychiatric Service, Regional Hospital No.58, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Leon 37268, MexicoUniversity Institute of Biomedical and Health Research (iUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), 35016 Canarias, SpainSpecialized mental health services (SMHS) should be accessible to all populations. This study investigated the accessibility of public SMHS for children and adolescent patients, as well as their caregivers, in Mexico. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 400 patient–caregiver dyads receiving care at two primary SMHS facilities. The survey included indicators within four dimensions of accessibility: (1) organizational entry into SMHS; (2) organizational processes within SMHS; (3) ecological factors; (4) financial aspects. Additionally, six outcome variables were explored, including perceived health conditions and quality of care indicators. A principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized to construct four accessibility indices. Subsequently, multiple linear regression models were applied to examine the relationship between these accessibility indices and the outcome variables. Several indicators yielded notable results. The average emergency ward waiting time was 74.3 min (SD = 95.99), the post-hospitalization wait time was 1.28 weeks (SD = 1.85), and the average medical costs amounted to 962.6 Mexican pesos (SD = 2555.1). Several of the tested relationships between accessibility indices and outcome variables were statistically significant; organizational processes within SMHS and financial indices had a higher number of these significant relationships. These findings highlight the significant challenges in improving accessibility to public SMHS for children and adolescents in Mexico.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/6/2/72mental healthaccessibilityout-of-pocket expendituresdisabilitywaiting times |
| spellingShingle | Lina Díaz-Castro Carlos Pineda-Antunez Christian Díaz de León-Castañeda Héctor Cabello-Rangel José Alberto Barrón-Cantú José Carlos Suarez-Herrera Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico Psychiatry International mental health accessibility out-of-pocket expenditures disability waiting times |
| title | Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico |
| title_full | Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico |
| title_fullStr | Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico |
| title_short | Challenges in Accessibility of Public Specialized Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents in Mexico |
| title_sort | challenges in accessibility of public specialized mental health services for children and adolescents in mexico |
| topic | mental health accessibility out-of-pocket expenditures disability waiting times |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/6/2/72 |
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