Pediatric Ethics

The demand for mental and behavioral health services in the United States is at an all-time high. Mental health crises, including suicide rates among children and adolescents, are on the rise. In addition to the usual stressors, the environment created by social media, online learning, the short and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, sustained global instability and mass casualty events, mean that children and adolescents today face some unique challenges to their mental and behavioral health. Barriers to accessing services include a shortage of mental health care providers and an increasingly fragmented care system. During our monthly meetings, PEAG members have consistently brought cases and raised issues involving a mental or behavioral health component to the group for their support and guidance. The PEAG membership expressed a desire to use this year’s meeting to critically reflect on this issue together. The session will consist of a multidisciplinary panel of national experts on mental health care, caring for children, advocacy and policy work in this space, and pediatric ethics. Dr. Moore (current PEAG chair) will moderate discussion, using a mixture of (1) pre-prepared questions that are developed with Drs. Madrigal and Brown (co-chairs) and the panelists, and (2) live audience questions, to generate conversation.