New research has found that being in the out-of-home care system increases the likelihood of having multiple ambulance attendances for alcohol, drug, mental health or self-harm among Victorian children.
As part of the study, researchers from Turning Point and Monash University examined the patient records of ambulance attendances for 27,565 Victorian children between January 2017 and June 2023.
The study found children with an identified history of out-of-home care had significantly more complex needs and were much more likely to experience substance-related harms, violence, self-harm, suicide ideation and attempts, developmental or intellectual disabilities, and mental health conditions.
The data was sourced from the National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS) and included a total of 49,035 ambulance attendances.
The research is published in the December edition of Child Abuse & Neglect. The full paper can be accessed here
Available to comment:
Dr Ryan Baldwin, Study lead researcher and research fellow at the National Addiction and Mental Health Surveillance Unit at Turning Point and Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University
Contact details: +61 (0) 478 854 644, or media@turningpoint.org.au
The following can be attributed to Dr Baldwin:
"An identified history of out-of-home care among the patients we studied increased the odds of having multiple ambulance attendances by more than two-and-a-half times.
"We also found that children in this cohort had a much higher rate of co-occurring mental health and self-harm behaviours, with over a quarter having an identified history of diagnosed mental health, self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt.
“These findings suggest that children in out-of-home care may be stuck in a crisis-driven revolving healthcare door, where existing supports are not sufficient in addressing their complex needs.
"Providing early, individualised, trauma-informed care that addresses the underlying causes, rather than only the presenting symptoms, is essential to ensure the needs of this vulnerable population are being met. Tailored support that is preventative, rather than reactionary, is critical to reducing repeated emergency responses for these at-risk children.”
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