Rise in Psychotropic Medication Use in Children Linked to Pandemic Impact.
The study looked at how a children's mental health service in Barnet prescribes medication to kids with neurodevelopmental disorders. They wanted to see if the service follows national guidelines and if introducing new workshops changed prescribing habits. They found that over half of the kids were on psychiatric medication, with many having ADHD or autism. Even though more non-drug treatments were offered, more kids were still given medication. This increase might be because of more severe cases after the COVID-19 pandemic. The service plans to provide more training in different therapies to help kids better.