ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 1231

Successful Implementation of a Mental Health Screening Program for Youth with Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Y. Ingrid Goh1, Kayla Baker1, Audrey Bell-Peter1, Vanessa Carbone1, Brian Feldman1, Luana Flores Pereira1, Jayne MacMahon1, Valerio Maniscalco1, Jo-Anne Marcuz1, Greta Mastrangelo2, Tanya Slater1, Kristi Whitney1 and Andrea Knight1, 1The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2Division of Rheumatology, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2023

Keywords: Health Care, mental health, Myositis, Pediatric rheumatology, Social support

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Date: Monday, November 13, 2023

Title: (1221–1255) Pediatric Rheumatology – Clinical Poster II: Connective Tissue Disease

Session Type: Poster Session B

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: High levels of emotional distress have been reported in children with juvenile myositis (JM). Inadequate recognition of mental health concerns by healthcare providers (HCPs) can contribute to poor disease outcomes. A recent multicenter study confirmed the feasibility and acceptability of mental health screening (MHS) in patients with JM. The global aim of this quality improvement project was to implement MHS with referrals to an integrated social worker as standard of care for patients ≥5 years of age seen in the SickKids JM clinic. The specific aims were to 1) increase the rate of MHS from 0 to ≥50% in a 90-day period, and 2) ensure that all patients with moderate or severe screening results received referrals for social work assessment.

Methods: A multidisciplinary stakeholder team (rheumatologists, physical therapists, nurse, social worker, research coordinators, and patient/caregiver advisors) iteratively developed screening and referral workflows, and educational resources for HCPs and families. Patients attending the JM clinic were to be screened for anxiety and depression [12-18 years old: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); caregivers of patients 5 to < 12 years old: Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17)]. All patients were to receive a mental health resource handout and patients with positive screens were to be reviewed by physicians who decided whether to refer to the social worker. HCPs were to document MHS in patients’ After Visit Summary (AVS) and electronic health record (EHR). Feedback was sought from HCPs and patients/caregivers who agreed to participate in surveys, which informed successive plan, do, study, and act (PDSA) cycles.

Results: Prior to implementation we did not perform MHS as standard care in JM clinic. We conducted three PDSA cycles from March 7 to May 30, 2023. All 32 patients (100%) seen in the clinic received MHS and the resource handout (Table 1). Documentation of MHS in the AVS and EHR rose from 25% to 92.3% and 71.4% to 100%, respectively. There were seven positive screens (22%), of which, six(86%) were referred to the integrated social worker and one was not as they were being seen at our clinic for a secondary opinion. All patient/caregiver survey participants (n=16) indicated that they were satisfied with the MHS process.

Conclusion: The JM clinic has successfully implemented MHS for all its patients within 90days and achieved timely referral to integrated social work. Additional PDSA cycles are needed to support its sustainability as well as build a robust culture of documentation. Future work will include development of tailored mental health resources to address the needs of patients with JM, caregivers, and siblings.

Supporting image 1

Table 1. MHS Implementation in Juvenile Myositis Clinic: Results Across PDSA Cycles Over a 3-Month Period


Disclosures: Y. Goh: None; K. Baker: None; A. Bell-Peter: None; V. Carbone: None; B. Feldman: AB2Bio, 2, Janssen, 2, Novo Nordisk, 2, Pfizer, 2; L. Flores Pereira: None; J. MacMahon: None; V. Maniscalco: None; J. Marcuz: None; G. Mastrangelo: None; T. Slater: None; K. Whitney: None; A. Knight: Pfizer, 6.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Goh Y, Baker K, Bell-Peter A, Carbone V, Feldman B, Flores Pereira L, MacMahon J, Maniscalco V, Marcuz J, Mastrangelo G, Slater T, Whitney K, Knight A. Successful Implementation of a Mental Health Screening Program for Youth with Juvenile Dermatomyositis [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023; 75 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/successful-implementation-of-a-mental-health-screening-program-for-youth-with-juvenile-dermatomyositis/. Accessed .
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to ACR Convergence 2023

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/successful-implementation-of-a-mental-health-screening-program-for-youth-with-juvenile-dermatomyositis/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology