Health, public sector service use and related costs of Swedish preschool children: results from the Children and Parents in Focus trial

Despite Sweden’s good child health statistics, data on the mental health and wellbeing of Swedish preschool children is scarce and not routinely collected in healthcare. The study aimed to: identify the proportion of preschool children with mental health and somatic problems, the public sector services used by these children and whether they differ by type of problems, investigate whether other factors affect service use, and estimate the costs associated with these services. This study used cross-sectional data on a sample of 3175 children aged 3–5 from the “Children and Parents in Focus trial”. Data on service use, child health and demographics were obtained from primary caregivers. Child mental health was assessed by both primary caregivers and teachers. 8.9% of the sample reported mental health problems, and approximately 1% had comorbid somatic and mental health problems. Over 50% of the preschoolers used any service, with school assistant being the most frequently used. The average annual cost per child, regardless of health status, was US$921, with 75% of the costs accruing at school. The presence of both somatic and mental health problems predicted higher service use, in particular extra services used at school and at home (mean annual cost US$13826 and US$1583, respectively). Children with comorbid problems accounted for the highest mean costs. Mental health problems among preschool children were particularly high compared to studies from other countries. There is a need to strengthen school mental health services to engage in proactive early identification of children with mental health problems so that appropriate care is provided. Trial registration number: ISRCTN16513449. Registered 23 July 2013. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00787-018-1185-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.