Osman, N; Michel, C; Schimmelmann, B G; Schilbach, L; Meisenzahl, E; Schultze-Lutter, F (2024). Pathways to professional mental care in the Swiss young adult community: a case-control study. (In Press). European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience Springer 10.1007/s00406-024-01757-4
|
Text
s00406-024-01757-4.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (1MB) | Preview |
Treatment success for mental health (MH) problems depends, among others, on the timeliness of help-seeking. Therefore, we studied the effect of symptoms and reasons for help-seeking on the point-of-contact and the most intensive professional treatment in a community sample. Participants were recruited as part of the 'Bern Epidemiological At-Risk' (BEAR) study on 16-40-year-old community persons of the Swiss canton Bern. Of the 2,683 participants, 615 (22.9%) reported at least one instance of help-seeking for MH problems and were selected for the presented analyses. Help-seeking behavior was assessed by a modified version of the 'WHO pathway-to-care questionnaire', from which the outcome 'most intensive MH professional contact' was generated. The effect of symptoms and reasons for help-seeking were analyzed in separate models using path analyses. Most help-seeking persons sought MH professional help (n = 405; 65.9%) with a high number of medical pre-contacts (n = 233; 37.9%). The 'most intensive MH professional contact' was provided after an average of 1.47 contacts. Both models showed negative associations between non-MH professional pre-contacts and the most intensive, likely most adequate MH treatment. In the symptom model, 'substance misuse' and 'central-vegetative problems' increased the general likelihood of MH professional contact. Our findings highlight the importance of the first point-of-contact in pathways to adequate MH care and, when seeking help from non-MH professional, of quick referrals to MH professionals. Awareness campaigns or training of health professionals, such as general practitioners, may support timely contact with MH professionals to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and outcome.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > Research Division |
UniBE Contributor: |
Michel, Chantal, Schimmelmann, Benno Karl Edgar, Schultze-Lutter, Frauke |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health |
ISSN: |
0940-1334 |
Publisher: |
Springer |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pubmed Import |
Date Deposited: |
05 Mar 2024 09:13 |
Last Modified: |
12 Apr 2024 09:37 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1007/s00406-024-01757-4 |
PubMed ID: |
38429553 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Active help-seeking behavior Community study Mental health problems/disorders Point-of-contact |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/193720 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/193720 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit item |