L H Andrade1, J Alonso2, Z Mneimneh3, J E Wells4, A Al-Hamzawi5, G Borges6, E Bromet7, R Bruffaerts8, G de Girolamo9, R de Graaf10, S Florescu11, O Gureje12, H R Hinkov13, C Hu14, Y Huang15, I Hwang16, R Jin17, E G Karam3, V Kovess-Masfety18, D Levinson19, H Matschinger20, S O'Neill21, J Posada-Villa22, R Sagar23, N A Sampson16, C Sasu24, D J Stein25, T Takeshima26, M C Viana27, M Xavier28, R C Kessler16. 1. Section of Psychiatric Epidemiology-LIM 23, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil. 2. Health Services Research Unit, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute), and CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain. 3. Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRAAC), St George Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. 4. Department of Public Health and General Practice, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. 5. Al-Qadisia University College of Medicine, Diwania Teaching Hospital, Diwania, Iraq. 6. Instituto Nacional de Psiquatria Ramon de la Fuente and Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico DF, Mexico. 7. Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA. 8. Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (UPC-KUL), Leuven, Belgium. 9. IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy. 10. Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 11. National School of Public Health Management and Professional Development, Bucharest, Romania. 12. Department of Psychiatry, University of Ibadan, College of Medicine, Ibadan, Nigeria. 13. National Center for Public Health and Analyses, Sofia, Bulgaria. 14. Shenzhen Institute of Mental Health and Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen, P. R. China. 15. Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, P. R. China. 16. Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 17. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA, USA. 18. EA 4069 Université Paris Descartes and Department of Epidemiology, EHESP School for Public Health, Paris, France. 19. Research and Planning, Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel. 20. Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, Public Health Research Unit, University of Leipzig, Germany. 21. Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Londonderry, UK. 22. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Instituto Colombiano del Sistema Nervioso, Bogota, Colombia. 23. Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India. 24. Scoala Nationala de Sanatate Publica, Management si Perfectionare in Domeniul Sanitar (SNSPMPDSB), Bucharest, Romania. 25. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, J-Block, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. 26. National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan. 27. Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil. 28. Mental Health Department, Faculdade Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: To examine barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment among individuals with common mental disorders. METHOD: Data were from the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Representative household samples were interviewed face to face in 24 countries. Reasons to initiate and continue treatment were examined in a subsample (n = 63,678) and analyzed at different levels of clinical severity. RESULTS: Among those with a DSM-IV disorder in the past 12 months, low perceived need was the most common reason for not initiating treatment and more common among moderate and mild than severe cases. Women and younger people with disorders were more likely to recognize a need for treatment. A desire to handle the problem on one's own was the most common barrier among respondents with a disorder who perceived a need for treatment (63.8%). Attitudinal barriers were much more important than structural barriers to both initiating and continuing treatment. However, attitudinal barriers dominated for mild-moderate cases and structural barriers for severe cases. Perceived ineffectiveness of treatment was the most commonly reported reason for treatment drop-out (39.3%), followed by negative experiences with treatment providers (26.9% of respondents with severe disorders). CONCLUSIONS: Low perceived need and attitudinal barriers are the major barriers to seeking and staying in treatment among individuals with common mental disorders worldwide. Apart from targeting structural barriers, mainly in countries with poor resources, increasing population mental health literacy is an important endeavor worldwide.
BACKGROUND: To examine barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment among individuals with common mental disorders. METHOD: Data were from the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Representative household samples were interviewed face to face in 24 countries. Reasons to initiate and continue treatment were examined in a subsample (n = 63,678) and analyzed at different levels of clinical severity. RESULTS: Among those with a DSM-IV disorder in the past 12 months, low perceived need was the most common reason for not initiating treatment and more common among moderate and mild than severe cases. Women and younger people with disorders were more likely to recognize a need for treatment. A desire to handle the problem on one's own was the most common barrier among respondents with a disorder who perceived a need for treatment (63.8%). Attitudinal barriers were much more important than structural barriers to both initiating and continuing treatment. However, attitudinal barriers dominated for mild-moderate cases and structural barriers for severe cases. Perceived ineffectiveness of treatment was the most commonly reported reason for treatment drop-out (39.3%), followed by negative experiences with treatment providers (26.9% of respondents with severe disorders). CONCLUSIONS: Low perceived need and attitudinal barriers are the major barriers to seeking and staying in treatment among individuals with common mental disorders worldwide. Apart from targeting structural barriers, mainly in countries with poor resources, increasing population mental health literacy is an important endeavor worldwide.
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