Addressing Barriers to Primary Care Screening and Referral to Prevention for Youth Risky Health Behaviors: Evidence Regarding Potential Cost-Savings and Provider Concerns

Population mental health science: Guiding principles and initial agenda.

“…At the organizational level, stakeholders may be hesitant to adopt universal screening based on concerns that screens will identify mental health needs or risk factors (e.g., housing insecurity) that exceed the capacity of service systems. Other barriers to adoption and implementation include cost and lack of reimbursement for screening and concerns that screening for problem behaviors could alienate some individuals (Ridenour et al, 2022).…”

“…• focus on outcomes of interest to policymakers (e.g., inpatient hospitalizations; Ridenour et al, 2022);…”

“…Second, self-report screens for early adolescents have been administered on tablets in clinic waiting rooms to assess risk for antisocial behavior and connect at-risk youth to preventive interventions. For example, the Youth Risk Index predicts later substance use/conduct problems and has been used to determine eligibility for the Family Check-Up, although this approach has not yet been scaled for population reach (Ridenour et al, 2022).…”

“…Future research shouldtest the effectiveness of community implementations of universal screens linked to tailored intervention(s);focus on outcomes of interest to policymakers (e.g., inpatient hospitalizations; Ridenour et al, 2022);prioritize economic evaluations of screening programs, including benefit–cost analyses, to justify the public investment (Crowley et al, 2018); andidentify and test implementation strategies that overcome contextual barriers to universal screening in a variety of settings and age groups.…”