Barriers to 12-month treatment of common anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys
Summary & key facts
Researchers used face-to-face surveys from 22 studies in 19 countries to ask adults with recent anxiety, mood (depression), or substance problems why they did not get treatment even though they felt they needed it. About 5,100 people who said they needed help were asked what stopped them. The most common reasons were thinking the problem was not serious enough, doubting that treatment would work, practical non-money problems like scheduling or not knowing where to go, and money. Most people named more than one reason. These results show that many kinds of barriers exist at the same time, which matters for planning services that reach people who say they need help.
- The study combined surveys from 22 community studies in 19 countries and included over 100,000 adults in total.
- About 5,100 people had a 12-month anxiety, mood, or substance use disorder and said they needed treatment; of these, about 2,400 did not get any treatment and about 900 had delayed treatment.
- Among the people who did not get treatment, roughly half said they thought their problem was not serious enough to need care.
- About 45% said they believed treatment would not be effective.
- Practical non-money barriers (like trouble getting appointments, transportation, or the time it would take) were reported by about 40% of those not treated, and money problems were cited by about one-third.
- Stigma, meaning worry about what others would think, was reported by about one in five people as a reason for not getting treatment.
- Most people reported more than one type of barrier rather than a single reason for not getting care.
- Which barriers people reported was linked to characteristics like education level, age, job status, and the type of disorder they had.
- Barriers that delayed treatment showed the same main pattern but were reported by larger shares of people than barriers among those who never got treatment.
- The authors say these patterns matter because reducing unmet need will likely require programs that tackle many different barriers at once.
Abstract
A wide range of barriers to treatment exist among people with mental disorders even after a need for treatment is acknowledged. Most such individuals have multiple barriers. These results have important implications for the design of programs to decrease unmet need for treatment of mental disorders.
Topics
Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Mental Health Treatment and AccessCategories
Psychology Social Psychology Social SciencesTags
Anxiety Clinical psychology Health administration Medicine Mental health Mood Mood disorders Nursing Psychiatry Psychology Public health Substance useConditions & symptoms
Anxiety Depression Substance abuse disorder Addiction or harmful habbits Anxiety or worry Sadness or low moodReferencing articles
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