Evaluating Short-Stay Admissions and Referral to Pediatric Liaison Psychiatry: A Mixed-Methods Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Ireland
Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin and School of Medicine, University College Dublin
How they used Delve
Pediatric liaison psychiatry researchers at Children's Health Ireland and University College Dublin coded transcripts of mini focus groups and an interview with 16 clinicians in Delve, with three reviewers generating initial codes independently and refining themes by consensus, alongside a quantitative review of 529 admissions.
“Inductive thematic analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke was conducted using Delve software, with 3 reviewers (L.B., C.M., and F.M.) independently generating initial codes before consensus-based theme refinement. This involved repeated reading of transcripts, line-by-line coding of meaning units, and iterative grouping of codes into candidate themes”
- Field
- Child and adolescent psychiatry / hospital liaison
- Data
- Mini focus groups and one individual interview with 16 frontline pediatric liaison clinicians, audio-recorded and transcribed with the Minutes AI platform
- Approach
- Mixed methods: chart review of 529 admissions analysed in SPSS, plus inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke) with three reviewers independently generating initial codes in Delve before consensus-based theme refinement
- Data types
- Focus groups, Interviews
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents increasingly present to pediatric emergency departments with acute mental health difficulties, yet short-stay pediatric liaison psychiatry admissions remain poorly characterized. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the demographic, clinical, and service features of short-stay pediatric liaison psychiatry admissions (≤24 h) in a tertiary pediatric hospital; compare them with longer admissions (>24 h); and explore multidisciplinary clinicians’ perspectives on their management. METHODS: A mixed-methods study was conducted comprising a retrospective review of all pediatric liaison psychiatry admissions between January 2024 and August 2025, alongside qualitative interviews and focus groups with frontline pediatric liaison psychiatry, emergency department, and social work clinicians (n = 16). RESULTS: Of 529 admissions, 213 (40.3%) were short-stay. These admissions were predominantly emergency-driven (67.1%), commonly assessed in the emergency department (65.7%), and frequently occurred out of hours (51.2%). Compared with longer admissions, short-stay patients were significantly more likely to present with self-harm or suicidality (65.3% vs 29.4%, P < 0.001), behavioral and externalizing difficulties (17.8% vs 10.1%, P < 0.001), aggression during admission (22.5% vs 10.4%, P < 0.001), and to be new referrals (85.9% vs 73.4%, P < 0.001). Although nearly 70% were not previously known to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, almost three-quarters were discharged with specialist mental health follow-up. Qualitative findings positioned the emergency department as the default site of youth mental health crisis care and an informal gateway to specialist services, highlighting environmental and safety mismatches. CONCLUSIONS: Short-stay admissions represent high-acuity youth mental health crises rather than low-impact encounters, underscoring the need for investment in multidisciplinary crisis pathways, workforce capacity, and alternative models of care.
Citation
L. Bond, IC O'Neill, C. Maloney, J. Hayden, F. McNicholas (2026). Evaluating Short-Stay Admissions and Referral to Pediatric Liaison Psychiatry: A Mixed-Methods Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Ireland. Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaclp.2026.05.003