2025 Children's of Alabmama Community Health Needs Assessment

“Screen time plays a lot into mental health… being depressed is like a trend.” — Birmingham student Lower mean scores signify more agreement among respondents. Thus, while the variances are minimal, there is slightly more agreement among the oldest respondents (mean=2.3) and less agreement among those aged 25 to 34 (mean=2.8).

“Parents are more receptive to physical health than mental health. They refuse to see something is wrong mentally.” — Pickens provider

Adult mental health and the corrosive effects of misinformation emerged as a topic of concern among children who participated in focus groups, especially as they reflected on their experiences during the pandemic. “I wasn’t worried about people outside of my family—my father got into conspiracy theories and was actively prepping for a societal result and that really messes with your brain when you’re like ten and constantly thinking people are going to kill you.” — Jefferson County student

Similarly, there is greater agreement among White than Black or African American respondents. See Table 7.

Table 7: Top Health Issue by Race of Respondent Race/Ethnicity n

Issue

Mean

White

595 Mental health/behavioral issues 136 Mental health/behavioral issues 10 Mental health/behavioral issues

2.5 3.0 2.2 2.1

Black or African American Hispanic/Latino/Latina:

Asian

8

Mental health/behavioral issues

American Indian or Alaska Native

14 Mental health/behavioral issues 14 Mental health/behavioral issues

2

Other

2.5

Children’s of Alabama, 2025 CHNA

15