CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATIONS IN THE WESTERN MACRO-REGION OF PARANÁ (2015–2024): EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE AND TEMPORAL TRENDS

Abstract

Mental and behavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence represent a growing public health challenge, frequently culminating in urgent hospital admissions. This study consists of a descriptive, ecological, and time-series epidemiological study aimed at analyzing the profile and temporal evolution of psychiatric hospitalizations in the population aged 0 to 19 years in the Western Health Macro-region of Paraná, Brazil, between 2015 and 2024. Data collection was performed using the Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS), via TabNet/DATASUS. The final sample totaled 2,872 hospitalizations, showing that the abusive use of psychoactive substances, combined with alcohol use, was the main cause of hospitalization (46.5%), followed by mood disorders. The analysis demonstrated continuous growth in hospitalizations between 2015 and 2019, interrupted by an abrupt drop in 2020 and 2021, linked to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital infrastructure, with a resumption of growth in 2024. It is noteworthy that 95.2% of admissions occurred on an urgency basis, requiring a long average length of stay (20.9 days), although with almost zero lethality (0.07%). It is concluded that the demand in the region has a highly acute profile, highlighting the need for preventive and outpatient strengthening of the Psychosocial Care Network (RAPS) to mitigate early hospitalizations.