In Canada, suicide ranks as the second greatest cause of mortality among teenagers and young adults. It remains the leading cause of mental health emergency care for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds across the province.
- Overview
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I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist and my work focuses on rapid stabilization of children in acute distress due to various mental health disorders. The goal of my research is to identify predictors of mental health crises in at risk youth in order to prevent relapse as well as detecting early signs of departure from stable baseline. We use descriptive, comparative, and inferential statistical models as well as statistical and machine learning technologies and methods to understand patterns of crisis development in children and adolescents with chronic psychiatric disorders.
- Research
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Trends in Psychiatric Seasonal Emergency Admission (TIPSEA)
Our study identifies specific vulnerability periods for individuals with Internalizing and externalizing disorders. This can help to develop preventative measures to decrease psychiatric crises and consequently emergency admissions during these periods. It could potentially help mental health policymakers as well as community care providers including outpatient psychiatrists to plan for adequate supportive measures to mitigate the impact of mounted stress during the academic year, as well as lack of school structure for these two specifically vulnerable cohorts of patients.Research Group MembersChristina Lam, Research Fellow
Simya Surani, Research Assistant
