PTOTQualitativeChild: care, health and development2025

Manager Perspectives on Services Addressing Mental Health Needs of Youth in Physical Rehabilitation.

Stephanie M Tremblay, Shalini Lal, Mark A Ferro and 1 others

PMID 40435388

WHAT IT FOUND

Managers in physical rehabilitation said mental health care for youth was blocked by unfilled staff roles, unclear mandates, siloed external services and long waits.

They wanted partnerships and clearer pathways.

Key findings

01Nine managers from nine programs across five sites reported that unfilled internal staff positions limited access to mental health specialists.

02Managers said program mandates focused on physical disability, and mental health roles were unclear.

03External referral was hindered by diagnosis requirements, inaccessible settings, and waitlists that in a case example extended over 1.5 years.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs

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What it does not show

The study included only nine managers from five sites in a Canadian city, so it may not reflect other regions, languages, service systems or manager roles. It did not include managers from mental health institutions, so the barriers were seen mainly from the rehabilitation side. It reports perspectives and themes, not measured patient outcomes or tested service models.

Declared interests

The study was funded by Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé. An author is an associate editor for the journal and guest editor for the special issue, and the paper states that this author had no role in the peer review process. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read these manager reports as evidence that a specific service model improves youth mental health. The study only described barriers and ideas from managers, so it cannot show what works.

Read it on PubMed →