The delay between symptom onset and seeking professional treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders in a rural Australian sample
Abstract
Background Epidemiological research has revealed that the utilisation of professional mental health services is low among rural Australians, despite a similar prevalence of mental illness to urban communities. However, the extent of this unmet need and the length of delay to first seek treatment in rural communities remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the delay among rural Australians in seeking treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders.Method A total of 124 participants with an anxiety or depressive disorder according to the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) who were participants of the Australian Rural Mental Health Study (ARMHS) were included in this study. Multivariate methods examined the contribution of clinical (onset age, disorder type and comorbidity), attitudinal/demographic (perceived stigma and current age) and structural (rurality) variables to the delay to first seek help.Results The average length of the delay was 18.7 years across disorders (range 0-67). The shortest delays were in depressive disorders (10.41 years) and the longest for social phobia (28.02 years). Multivariate analysis indicated that younger onset age, older current age, diagnosis of panic disorder or depressive disorder, and living in a remote (R) or very remote area (VR) were associated with delays of more than one year.Conclusion Delays to first seek treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders appear to be far more prolonged in rural compared to urban Australia. This is particularly the case for Australian residents living in R and VR areas. This is of particular concern due to the significant mental health needs of rural Australians.
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Because spontaneous recovery is common in depression but not in phobia, it is unlikely that the decrease in phobic complaints can be attributed to spontaneous recovery rather than to the intervention.
“Because spontaneous recovery is common in depression [54] but not in phobia [5,6], it is unlikely that the decrease in phobic complaints can be attributed to spontaneous recovery rather than to the intervention.”
From Short-term effectiveness of web-based guided self-help for phobic outpatients: randomized controlled trial. (2014) · cites this paper as [6]
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- Authors
- Green, A. C., Hunt, C., & Stain, H. J.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Hunt, Caroline
- Venue
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Published
- 2011-11-25
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1475-1487
- ISSN
- 0933-7954 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-9285
- OpenAlex
- W2060094825
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NOVA (University of Newcastle Australia) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- help-seeking delay, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, rural mental health, unmet mental health needs, perceived stigma, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, remoteness, age of onset, urban-rural differences
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety Disorders, Australia, Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Health Surveys, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Retrospective Studies, Rural Population, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Behavior, Prevalence, Multivariate Analysis, Age of Onset, Young Adult, Delayed Diagnosis
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