Telehealth access for children's mental health in underserved areas
Official title: State Telehealth Policies and Mental Care for Children in Underserved Areas
Funded at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. · NIH-11252524 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether state telehealth rules help children in areas with few mental health providers get mental health care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Canton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | March 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $771,512 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH132551-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11252524 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children and families living in U.S. areas with few child mental health providers, especially those who used or tried to use telehealth services during or after the public health emergency, are the focus of this work.
✕Less likely to help
Children needing immediate inpatient or intensive specialty care, or those whose issues are not driven by access barriers, may not see direct benefits from the policy changes studied here.
What this research studies
From a family's point of view, researchers will compare state telehealth rules on licensure, insurance coverage, and reimbursement to see how they affected children's access to mental health care during and after the public health emergency. They will combine state policy records with healthcare claims and other care-use data to track telehealth visits and in-person care over time. The team will analyze differences across states and in mental health professional shortage areas to spot which policies improved or worsened access and whether access was uneven across groups. Results will be used to suggest clearer telehealth policies that could make it easier for kids in underserved areas to get care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could inform state policies that expand reliable telehealth access for children who lack nearby mental health providers.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows telehealth can improve access in some adult and general pediatric settings, but few studies have looked specifically at state policies and children's mental health in shortage areas, making this effort relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
Canton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yu, Hao — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Yu, Hao
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.