Patterns of Mental Health Service Use in Australian Workers with Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
S E Gray, M Di Donato, L R Sheehan and 2 others
PMID 38402325WHAT IT FOUND
Only 9.7% of workers with low back pain claims received funded mental health services.
Those who did wait a median of 26.6 weeks for the first visit. Services were concentrated in workers with long-term time loss, with psychologists providing most care.
Key findings
01Funded mental health services were uncommon, used by only 9.7% of workers with accepted low back pain claims.
02The median time from claim acceptance to the first mental health service was 26.6 weeks, and workers with longer time loss waited even longer.
03Psychologists provided the majority of services (81.6% of all funded mental health services), and most workers (74.8%) saw only a psychologist.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study only captured mental health services funded by workers’ compensation, missing services provided through public health systems (Medicare), private insurance, or out-of-pocket, so it likely underestimates total mental health care use. Data were from 2011-2015, and policies in several jurisdictions have changed since then, potentially affecting current service patterns. Administrative data may contain coding errors, and some services might have been misclassified. The study did not measure mental health outcomes or recovery, only service use patterns, so it cannot determine if the services provided were effective.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and Monash University. No specific conflicts of interest were declared by the authors in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the low rate of service use (9.7%) as evidence that mental health problems are rare in this population. Previous research cited in the paper suggests higher prevalence of distress, indicating a gap between need and funded service provision rather than a lack of need.