Mental Health Service Utilization Among Medical Students with a Perceived Need for Care
Abstract
Objective The authors investigated levels of perceived need for help, patterns of mental health service utilization, and barriers to care among US medical students with a focus on students who perceived a need for help but did not report service use in the past 12 months.Methods The authors administered an online survey to 2,868 medical students at three schools in Ohio between January and February 2020 including validated scales for psychological distress, self-stigma, and an exploration of mental health treatment. The authors used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with treatment and qualitative analysis to identify common barriers to care.Results Twenty-eight percent (N = 800) of 2,868 students responded to the survey. Fifty-six percent (n = 439) of students reported a perceived need for help, while 34.6% of these respondents (n = 152) did not receive treatment. Among those with perceived need who completed the survey (n = 388), Asian students compared to non-Hispanic white students (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.82) and those with higher self-stigma (aOR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.87-0.94) had lower odds of service use. Students told by others to seek help (aOR = 2.82, 95% CI 1.71-4.64) were the only group with higher odds of service use. The most common barriers to care were lack of time, difficulty accessing services, and stigma.Conclusions Despite a perceived need for help, many students do not seek care and experience treatment barriers. Schools can encourage help-seeking by identifying students in need, using targeted messaging, fostering a low-stigma environment, and removing barriers.
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Common barriers preventing medical students from using mental health services include time constraints, limited accessibility, concerns about confidentiality, stigma, fear of unwanted interventions, and cost.
“Common barriers that prevent students from using these services include time constraints, limited accessibility, concerns about confidentiality, stigma, fear of unwanted interventions, and cost [4,25].”
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“Common barriers that prevent students from using these services include time constraints, limited accessibility, concerns about confidentiality, stigma, fear of unwanted interventions, and cost [4,25].”
- Authors
- Phillips, M. S., Steelesmith, D. L., Brock, G., Benedict, J., Muñoz, J., & Fontanella, C. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern California (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Loma Linda University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Phillips, Matthew S.
- Venue
- Academic Psychiatry
- Published
- 2022-01-10
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 223-227
- ISSN
- 1042-9670 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-7230
- OpenAlex
- W4205520159
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 4.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Academic Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ohio State Medical Alumni Society
- Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR001070)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- medical students, mental health service utilization, help-seeking, perceived need for help, barriers to care, self-stigma, psychological distress, racial and ethnic differences, student mental health
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Humans, Mental Health Services, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Medical, Social Stigma
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