Demographic and clinical features of children receiving psychiatric medication at a specialist psychiatric clinic

Abstract

In the past ten years, there has been an increased awareness about the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders in childhood. As a consequence, there has been a concomitant increase in the prescription of psychiatric medication for children. Off-label and concomitant medication are particular issues of concern in child psychiatry. In South Africa, there is limited data on paediatric prescribing trends. It is important to know the demographic trends and clinical reasons for medication use in order to assess, plan, improve and budget for children’s mental health care services. The results of this study will give insights into the current prescribing patterns at Tara’s Outpatient Child Clinic (TOCC)