Posted on 24/4/2019

Mental health screening for children

Studies indicate that about one-third of children with chronic and severe medical conditions suffer from depression and/or anxiety disorders. A lack of awareness among clinicians and a lack of practical screening tools and diagnostic procedures are two main reasons for the under-diagnosis and under-treatment of emotional disorders associated with chronic medical conditions in children and adolescents.

Fondation Dora is supporting a project to develop and validate a process of identifying depression and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with chronic and severe medical conditions. The project will screen 600 children aged 6 to 18 years old, from both Jewish and Arab ethnicities, recruited from the Edmond & Lili Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center. 

Those who screen positive will undergo a clinical assessment, after which they will be referred for appropriate psychosocial or medication treatment.

It is expected that this project will lead to the development of practical screening and treatment procedures for depression and anxiety disorders in this paediatric population. 

This project started in 2019 and will last three years.