The Mental Health Needs of Children and Adolescents Marguerite A. DiMarco and Bernadette Melnyk T HE MENTAL HEALTH needs of children and adolescents cannot be met by any one discipline or specialty. As we examine the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) position statement, it becomes clear that there is a vision shared by both advanced practice psychiatric nurses and pediatric nurse practitioners. The synergism between these two specialties holds the potential for increasing networks and resources; enhancing knowledge and skills; and having more innovation in clinical practice, research, and education related to the mental health of children and adolescents. Everyone gains in such a collaborative relationship —pediatric nurse practitioners, advanced practice psychiatric nurses, and most importantly, our clients. Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) have provided care for children and their families for more than 40 years, especially in underserved communities. The PNP's role includes providing care with a holistic approach to children and their families, with emphasis in areas such as anticipatory guidance; growth and development; immunizations; early intervention; screening; prevention; and treatment of physical, mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. In the last several years, particular attention has been given to the child and adolescent mental and behavioral health areas. As national chair of the Keep your Child Safe and Secure Program, Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/NPP, FAAN, has led this charge. (Melnyk et al., in press) fostered the enhanced integration of child and adolescent behavioral and mental health content and skills building in 20 PNP programs across the nation, with funding from the Commonwealth Fund. An outcomes evaluation of this curriculum integration was conducted, with findings indicating that faculty participating in the project versus faculty not participating in the project increased their own knowledge in the targeted areas and reported that their students were better prepared to assess and manage these problems using an evidence-based intervention (Melnyk et al., in press). Furthermore, the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) has now included an increased amount of test items in the mental health area in their certification examination for PNPs. In addition, a new certification examination in the child and adolescent behavioral and mental health area is being developed by the PNCB for PNPs and family nurse practitioners. In addition, NAPNAP (2007) released the following, “Position Statement on the Integration of Mental Health Care in the Pediatric Primary Care Setting”: The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) acknowledges the importance of providing comprehensive mental health services, including preven- tion, screening, early intervention, and follow-up for children in need. Mental and behavioral health disorders affect 15 million children and adolescents and are associated with disabling morbidity, significant mortality, and substantial health care costs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006; Mark & Buck, 2006; National Mental Health Association, 2005). Fewer than 35% of affected children and youth receive treatment for their disorders (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006; Stein, Zitner, & Jensen, 2006) because of a lack of appropriate screening and identification by primary care Available online at www.sciencedirect.com From the The University of Akron, College of Nursing, Akron, OH; Arizona State University Phoenix, AR. Corresponding Author: Marguerite A. DiMarco, PhD, CPNP, College of Nursing, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325. E-mail address: dimarco@uakron.edu © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 0883-9417/1801-0005$34.00/0 doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2009.02.003 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH COLUMN Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Vol. 23, No. 4 (August), 2009: pp 334–336 334