P-14 Initial Findings from Nationwide Mental Health Screening for Primary School-Aged Children in Guyana

Methods: In 2023, Guyana’s Ministries of Health and Education designed and implemented Guyana’s first Comprehensive Child and Youth Health Program (CYHP), with primary school children screenings in August 2024. Trained staff conducted physical examinations and mental health, dental, vision, hearing and neurodevelopmental assessments; and administered deworming medication and vaccines. Mental Health screening used the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17), a validated, 17-item, self-report measure that evaluates domains of Attention, Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms. PSC-17 is considered “positive” for an overall score ≥15, or with domain-specific positive scores of Attention Symptoms Score ≥7, Internalizing Symptoms ≥ 5, or Externalizing Symptoms ≥7. “Positive” scores require referral for mental health evaluation. Having “any indication of mental health symptoms” is any score ≥5. After 4 months of screening, 5,100 forms from 6 of Guyana’s regions were transported to MOH, with 1000 randomly selected for initial data extraction, presented here.

Results: Between August and December 2024, 19,554 primary school children, from all Guyana’s regions, were evaluated in CYHP; 24% of those currently enrolled. In pilot evaluation of 1000 children, 46% were female (age 5-13 mean 10.5 years). None had prior mental health diagnoses, but 124 children (12%) had positive total or domain PSC-17 scores; with 35 having positive total PSC-17 screen; 8 positive in Attention; 49 positive in Internalizing; and 32 positive in Externalizing domains. Overall, 231 (23%) children had a PSC-17 score of 5 or more, 55% of these were males. However, for the higher scores, 15 or more, 71% were males.

Conclusion: Guyana’s CYHP provides an innovative model for evaluating mental health needs among school-aged children, making accurate national data on children’s mental health symptoms available for the first time.