Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Purpose: In this study, our aim was to investigate the complaints of children referred from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic to the Child Development polyclinic, the reasons for their referral, and the procedures that were performed. METHODS: In this study, files of children admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic within the past six months were scanned retrospectively, and the files of children referred to a child development and education specialist were selected. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS 15.0 for Windows program. RESULTS: Of the 425 children evaluated within the context of this study, 166 (39.1%) were female, while 259 (60.9%) were male. Cases were between 0 and 16 years of age (mean age 4.7±3.8). It was determined that 273 (64.2%) of these cases were preschool children, while 152 (35.7%) were school age children. The most common reason for referral to the Child Development polyclinic was to evaluate growth, with a ratio of 51.5%; the second most common reason was the intention to administer the Ankara Development Screening Inventory (ADSI), with a ratio of 39.2%. The child development and education specialist provided recommendations for supporting growth to 84.2% of cases. CONCLUSION: It was observed in this study that nearly one-third of all children admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic were referred to the child development polyclinic. Failure to perform procedures for assessing development and growth in children can lead clinicians to overlook asymptomatic developmental conditions. The presence of child development and education specialists in institutions with Child and Adolescent psychiatrists and pediatricians will allow the objective assessment of child patients, and reduce the burden of physicians in terms of the counseling services for families.

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