Pathways to mental health consultations: A study from a tertiary care setting in India.
Int J Soc Psychiatry
; 68(2): 449-456, 2022 Mar.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33789514
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Research indicates that help seeking for mental health is low and often delayed. Understanding pathways to care is crucial to facilitate mental health referrals and reduce the time to consultation.METHODS:
In the present study, 63 individuals were assessed on illness severity, attitudes towards help-seeking and pathways-to-care.RESULTS:
Multiple pathways for therapy were noted, a delayed-pathway, two-step referral pathway and a direct-pathway. Most prominent pathway was the delayed-pathway. The direct-pathway had least treatment delay, contributed by timely recognition of symptoms by the patient. As first point of contact, patients preferred psychiatrists and popularly sought information about treatment via media.CONCLUSIONS:
There are multiple pathways to consultations, often leading to treatment delay in care received. Timely recognition of symptoms was associated a direct pathway and the least delay. These findings have implications for strengthening routes to mental health specialists at early stages and increasing awareness about treatment available.Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Psychiatrie
/
Services de santé mentale
Limites:
Humans
Langue:
En
Journal:
Int J Soc Psychiatry
Année:
2022
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Inde