In the United States, 49% of youth with diagnosed psychiatric conditions lack access to mental healthcare. In North Carolina, that figure rises to 72%, according to Dr. Sy Atezaz Saeed, founder and executive director of the Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health at East Carolina University.
To address this gap, the center launched a United Health grant-funded collaborative care program focused on identifying unrecognized childhood mental health conditions and bridging primary care and psychiatric services in rural Tier One and Tier Two counties.
Two years into the three-year initiative, approximately 1,000 children with anxiety or depression have been identified and connected to care who otherwise might not have received a diagnosis.
"They were not coming to the clinic because they had a psychiatric condition," Saeed said.
Of those identified, around 300 required consultation with a child psychiatrist for complex disorders or medication management. Historically, children referred for mental health evaluations in North Carolina have faced wait times of up to six months. Through the program, some patients have been seen within the same week.
"The same child who otherwise may have waited six months to see a child psychiatrist is seen by a child psychiatrist in the same week," said Saeed. "In none of the cases was it more than a month."
To date, the program has screened 44,000 children, with detailed findings reported from 34,000 screenings. About 15% screened positive for indicators suggesting a high probability of psychiatric disorders, and 18% screened positive for anxiety.
Telepsychiatry enables child psychiatrists to evaluate patients remotely and supervise embedded master-level social workers and psychologists within participating primary care clinics.
The program also incorporates a virtual community, NC Kids Get Well, built on Roblox. "We decided to actually use virtual reality to build a virtual community house where a child can go and play," Saeed said. "As they go in and play, they are learning about things and getting peer support because there are others who are playing in there as well."
An AI-driven knowledge management system using OpenAI’s GPT supports data analysis, educational content development, and satisfaction tracking. Current participant satisfaction averages 4.63 out of 5, reflecting engagement across families and young patients in rural communities.
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