Factors Influencing the Health Care Utilization Among People With Depression and/or Anxiety Symptoms.
Young Ji Lee, Joshua Palmer, Alice Curtis Cline and 1 others
PMID 37724452WHAT IT FOUND
Low-income adults were more likely to use mental health services if they were older, female, insured, had a usual place for care, had limited social functioning, or reported depression or anxiety symptoms.
Younger adults, men, and those without coverage or care access were less likely.
Key findings
01Among 7,156 low-income adults, 36% reported symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and 21% reported using mental health services.
02Older age, limited social functioning, insurance, and a usual place for care were associated with higher odds of mental health service use.
03Men had 43.2% lower odds of using mental health services than women, while education, marital status, and country of birth were not associated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that age, sex, insurance, social functioning, or symptoms caused mental health service use. All information came from self-report, and service use was based on survey answers about medication or counseling rather than medical records. The survey excluded institutionalized and homeless adults, who are more likely to have severe mental disabilities, so the results may not apply to the most marginalized low-income patients. The analysis did not distinguish between types of mental health services, such as medication, counseling, or combined care. The NHIS did not contain all specific information needed to analyze factors affecting mental health service use for depression and anxiety. The sample was restricted to low-income adults with family income below the federal poverty threshold, so it does not apply to higher-income adults.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that insurance, a usual place for care, or limited social functioning cause people to use mental health services. This cross-sectional survey only reports associations among low-income adults, and it did not test an intervention.