Acute and outpatient service utilisation prior to, during, and following enrolment in community-based mental health treatment among children and youth in Central Ontario: A proof of concept for cross-sectoral data linkage.

Aim: Given the fragmentation of mental health and addictions (MHA) services for children and youth, comprehensive data on utilisation patterns are lacking. We sought to describe MHA-related service use across the community, acute and outpatient sectors.

Methods: We used linked health-administrative data sets to identify a cohort of individuals aged <18 who received MHA treatment in a large community organisation in Ontario, Canada between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012.