Pediatric Integrated Primary Care: A Population Health Approach to Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Children and Families

Addressing the behavioral health needs of the population is a growing public health concern; a significant portion of the population struggles with behavioral health challenges yet access to care is limited due to a multitude of barriers. Research has demonstrated that integration of behavioral health providers into the primary care team is an effective means of increasing care access and reducing barriers to care. While there has been an uptake in integrated primary care (IPC) in adult healthcare, there is significant opportunity for expanding IPC in pediatrics. Nemours Children’s Health has developed a model IPC program to serve children and youth in Delaware and train future behavioral health professionals. Policy to support payment for IPC services and fund workforce development will be essential to sustaining the Nemours program as well as expanding this and other IPC models in order to serve more children and youth in Delaware and beyond.