Hospitalizations

About the Measure

Data on this measure comes from Intellihealth, an online database managed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This rate represents the number of hospitalizations for mental health and behavioural disorders among children and youth, aged seven to 18, during a given year, expressed per 10,000. Data is not available for children aged birth to six given the low number of hospitalizations for mental and behavioural disorders.

Key Findings

Overall, youth, aged 14 to 18, have higher rates of hospitalizations (158.99 per 10,000) than children, aged seven to 13, (21.99 per 10,000). Hospitalization rates have increased for both age groups. Between 2007 and 2017, the hospitalization rates have doubled among seven to 13 year olds and tripled among 14 to 18 year olds. 

Females, aged 14 to 18, (232.80 per 10,000) have higher hospitalization rates for mental and behavioural disorders than males of the same age (88.30 per 10,000). Since 2015, hospitalization rates among females in this age group have increased at a much faster rate than males. This data can be found in the downloadable Excel file at the bottom of this page.

Limitations

Hospitalization data will not capture those treated and released from emergency departments, those treated in doctors' offices or clinics, or those who did not seek treatment in hospital. Hospitalizations for mental health and behavioural disorders can include multiple hospitalizations for the same person. It only provides a crude measure of the prevalence of mental health and behaviour disorders and is influenced by the availability of services. Also, while the majority of child and youth hospitalizations for mental health are recorded in IntelliHealth, some who occupy adult psychiatric beds in acute care hospitals may be recorded in Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS). Those children and youth are not captured in this data.

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About the Measure

Self-harm refers to someone hurting themselves on purpose.^[2] Data on this measure comes from Intellihealth, an online database managed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This rate represents the number of hospitalizations for intentional self-harm among children and youth, aged seven to 18, during a given year, expressed per 10,000. Data is not available for children aged birth to six given the low number of hospitalizations for intentional self-harm. 

Recent data shows that youth, aged 14 to 18, (28.19 per 10,000) have much higher rates of hospitalization for intentional self-harm compared to children, aged seven to 13 (2.11 per 10,000). Since 2009, rates of hospitalization for intentional self-harm have increased among both age groups.

Females, aged 14 to 18, (40.34 per 10,000) have higher hospitalization rates for intentional self-harm compared to males of the same age (16.06 per 10,000). This data can be found in the downloadable Excel file at the bottom of this page.

Source: IntelliHealth, extracted November 2, 2018. Prepared by Health Analytics Team, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.

Limitations

Hospitalization data will not capture those treated and released from emergency departments, those treated in doctors' offices or clinics, or those who did not seek treatment in hospital. It is important to note that this data only provides data on self-harm practices that require medical attention. It is likely that many more youth self-harm but do not go to the hospital. As a result, the rate of hospitalizations for intentional self-harm among children and youth likely underestimates the true prevalence of self-harm in our community.

Download Full Dataset (Excel)