Social determinants of mental health influencing the emergency department experiences of Latinx children and adolescents with mental and behavioral health crisis and their care partners: An interpretative phenomenological analysis study.

= 5). In-depth interviews were conducted with children selecting arts-based techniques (e.g., photo elicitation and drawing). Data were analyzed using the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health framework, combining inductive coding with categorization into structural and intermediary determinants. Findings demonstrate how structural determinants (e.g., immigration-related barriers, insurance, and socioeconomic position) interact with intermediary determinants (e.g., psychosocial stress, material hardship, and health system factors) to shape care-seeking, including delays in accessing services and reliance on emergency departments. Cultural influences emerged primarily through individual- and family-level beliefs and did not operate in isolation; rather, their influence was embedded within broader social contexts marked by varying levels of social cohesion and social capital. Overall, the study highlights mental and behavioral health crisis care as a system-mediated, ongoing process rather than a discrete event. While findings reflect a small, context-specific sample, they underscore the need for integrated, culturally and linguistically responsive, and structurally informed interventions, such as the inclusion of bilingual community health workers, to improve access and continuity of care for Latinx families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).