Racial and Ethnic Differences in Encounters Related to Suicidal Behavior Among Children and Adolescents With Medicaid Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in mental health needs among adolescents and young adults, including an increase in suspected suicide attempts. Before the pandemic, suicide was a major public health concern among youth. The pandemic has also called attention to, and in some cases exacerbated, existing inequities in health care delivery, but little is known about racial and ethnic differences in health care encounters related to suicidal behavior among children and adolescents during the pandemic. This is particularly true for American Indian or Alaska Native youth. American Indian and Alaska Native persons experienced higher suicide-related mortality compared to the general US population prior to the pandemic. We examined racial and ethnic differences in encounters related to suicidal behaviors among a national sample of children and adolescents covered under Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during the first year of the pandemic.