Putting research into practice: Offord Centre teams up with family doctors to speed treatment of children with mental health problems

The Offord Centre for Child Studies has teamed up with Ontario’s largest family health team to get children with mental health problems the help they need sooner.

They’re doing it by arming primary care physicians with parent-friendly pamphlets and a first-of-its-kind web site containing the latest information on how to identify and treat anxiety, depression and other mental health problems that children and teens may be facing. 

The information pamphlets – on Anxiety Problems, Attention Problems, Behaviour Problems and Mood Problems – are the second phase of the Offord Centre’s efforts to put evidence-based information on children’s mental health into the hands of ordinary Canadians.  It follows on the heels of a web site – the Centre of Knowledge on Healthy Child Development at www.knowledge.offordcentre.com, which received praise from both parents and mental health professionals when it was launched last year.

Peter Szatmari, Director of the Offord Centre, says the partnership is an important step in a targeted effort to ensure that Canadian families have access to the most effective treatments identified by research.

“The role of the family physician is pivotal.  About 20% of families who are struggling with the mental health issues of a child or teenager will go to see their family doctor but will not seek help anywhere else.  To reach these families, we need to reach primary care physicians.”

The role is a natural one for the Offord Centre.  Affiliated with McMaster University and McMaster Children’s Hospital, the Centre is a recognized leader in the study of social, emotional and behavioral problems that impede the healthy development of children.  It was founded by child psychiatrist and child development expert David “Dan” Offord, who led the landmark Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) that was the first to report the disturbing statistic that one in five children has a serious mental health problem.

The Centre chose to join forces with the Hamilton Family Health Team (HFHT) because it’s the largest in the province, and the only family health team in Ontario that has made child and youth mental health a top priority for primary health care delivery.  With 70 mental health counsellors serving 114 physicians and their 250,000-plus patients, it has become a model for other mental health and primary care collaborations across the country.

“This is new territory for family physicians,” says Brenda Mills, who is coordinating the HFHT’s Child and Youth Mental Health pilot project.  “The commitment is there but their efforts are stymied by a lack of resources and long wait lists for treatment. 

“These pamphlets from the Offord Centre are making a huge difference.  Family practitioners finally have the tools they need to help families deal with these problems.”

In addition to serving as a resource for the mental health counsellors, the information pamphlets are being made available in waiting rooms and examining rooms.  Parents who raise specific concerns about a child’s mental health are guided step-by-step through the appropriate pamphlet so they can understand the problem and the most effective treatment options available.  Doctors and counsellors are encouraged to access the web site for additional information.

“It’s very hands on,” says Mills.  “Our family doctors will go through the pamphlet with a parent, circling pertinent sections and reviewing what the parent has noticed about their child’s behaviour.  The result is that parents are much more likely to follow through on a recommendation to see a mental health counsellor or begin treatment that could help their child.”

Dr. Meghan Davis, whose practice is located in an area of east Hamilton where there are a lot of single-parent and low-income families, is one of the project’s most enthusiastic supporters.  “It’s a very valuable resource.  Child and youth mental health issues are a big part of our practice, and if we can educate the parents we will help the kids.”

Her colleague, Dr. Laura Blew, says that having the pamphlets on display has encouraged parents to think about their child’s mental health during routine doctor’s visits.  “They often come in clutching one of the pamphlets, saying ‘Tell me more about this.”  The pamphlets are helping us reach people we would not otherwise reach.”

The web site has also proven valuable, so much so that there are now plans to install computers in the waiting rooms.  “Many of our families do not have computers at home, so this will allow them to access the information in our offices with the help and guidance of their family doctor,” says Mills.

Other plans include translating the pamphlets into Portuguese, Italian and other languages; developing mental health screening tools that can be used by family physicians during routine checkups; and targeting information directly to teenagers.  “The number of adolescents we are seeing in primary care is astounding,” says Mills.  “This is a very high-risk group.”

Meanwhile, the Offord Centre has licensed its pamphlets to the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, which will be distributing them across that province.  It also hopes to emulate the Hamilton Family Health Team project in other communities. 

“We’re beginning to think ahead about how we can support all family doctors across the region, across the province, and across Canada,” says Dr. Szatmari.  “We want all family physicians everywhere to have access to this material.”

Learn more about our information pamphlets on child and youth mental
health problems