Pathways to professional mental care in the Swiss young adult community: a case-control study.

Autor: Osman N; Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy/LVR-Clinic Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany. naweed.osman@lvr.de., Michel C; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland., Schimmelmann BG; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Schilbach L; Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy/LVR-Clinic Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.; Medical Faculty, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany., Meisenzahl E; Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy/LVR-Clinic Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany., Schultze-Lutter F; Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy/LVR-Clinic Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience [Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci] 2024 Mar 01. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 01.
DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01757-4
Abstrakt: 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.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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