Heterogeneity in Unmet Treatment Need and Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services Among U.S. Military Service Members with Serious Psychological Distress.

The goal of the current study is to examine heterogeneity in mental health treatment utilization, perceived unmet treatment need, and barriers to accessing care among U.S. military members with probable need for treatment. Using data from the 2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behavior Survey, we examined a subsample of 2,336 respondents with serious psychological distress (SPD; past-year K6 score ≥ 13) and defined four mutually exclusive groups based on past-year mental health treatment (treated, untreated) and self-perceived unmet treatment need (recognized, unrecognized). We used chi-square tests and adjusted regression models to compare groups on sociodemographic factors, impairment (K6 score; lost work days), and endorsement of treatment barriers. Approximately 43% of respondents with SPD reported past-year treatment and no unmet need (Needs Met). The remainder (57%) met criteria for unmet need: 18% endorsed treatment and recognized unmet need (Treated/Additional Need); 7% reported no treatment and recognized unmet need (Untreated/Recognized Need); and 32% reported no treatment and no unmet need (Untreated/Unrecognized Need). Compared to other groups, those with Untreated/Unrecognized Need tended to be younger (ages 18-24; p = 0.0002) and never married (p = 0.003). The Treated/Additional Need and Untreated/Recognized Need groups showed similar patterns of treatment barrier endorsement, whereas the Untreated/Unrecognized Need group endorsed nearly all barriers at lower rates. Different strategies may be needed to increase appropriate mental health service use among different subgroups of service members with unmet treatment need, particularly those who may not self-perceive need for treatment.

Sexual Orientation, Social Determinants of Health, and Unmet Substance Use Treatment Need: Findings from a National Survey.

Background: In 2018, an estimated 89% of individuals who needed treatment for substance use did not have their need met. Compared to heterosexuals, the disparity between needing and receiving treatment is thought to be even higher for sexual minorities. Yet, few studies have investigated sexual orientation and its relationship to unmet treatment need or the association between sexual orientation and specific reasons for the inability to enter treatment. Understanding these reasons is critical to eradicating barriers to treatment for sexual minorities. Obejctives: Using pooled data from the 2015-2018 National Survey of Drug Use and Health and guided by Andersen's behavioral model of health services use, this study examined the relationship between respondents' sexual orientation and their perceptions of reasons for unmet substance use treatment need. Results: Findings indicated that sexual minorities had more than double the odds of having unmet need due to access and insurance barriers. Conclusions: While further research and larger samples are needed to understand the relationships revealed by this study more fully, it is clear that sexual minorities do not have equitable access to substance use treatment services relative to heterosexuals. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Perception of Unmet Need after Seeking Treatment for a Past Year Major Depressive Episode: Results from the 2018 National Survey of Drug Use and Health.

Depression, a leading cause of disability and mortality world-wide that one in five U.S. adults are estimated to experience in their lifetime, presents special complications in treatment. While it is well-recognized that there are several barriers to even obtaining treatment for depression, once an individual obtains treatment they may not receive the type of care that they need. In order to examine common factors of those who experienced an unmet treatment need for depression despite seeking mental health treatment, we examined data from the 2018 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). We cross-sectionally compared two groups of individuals who both met criteria for a past year Major Depressive Episode (MDE) and sought mental health treatment, however one group reported an unmet treatment need and the other did not. Results indicate a variety of personal identity and social factors associated with perceiving an unmet treatment need, including age, race/ethnicity, sexual attraction, marital status, poverty level, health insurance, substance misuse, global health, and role impairment. This study contributes to the literature by providing further support for disparities in depression treatment at the consumer, provider, and systemic levels that have downstream effects for health equity policy and public health promotion.

An outreach collaborative model for early identification and treatment of mental disorder in Danish workplaces.

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental disorders among the working population with potentially high personal and financial cost. The overall aim of this study was to test the applicability of an outreach collaborative model for early identification and treatment of clinical and sub-clinical mental disorders among Danish employees. This applicability was examined by I) investigating the fractions of identified and treated clinical and subclinical cases, II) describing the distribution and characteristics of cases identified and III) investigating the effect of allocated treatment. METHODS: A longitudinal study design with four assessments (T0-T3) over 16 months was applied. Self-reporting questionnaires probing for psychopathology were distributed to all employees in six consecutively enrolled companies at the four time points. Employees meeting the screening criteria at T1 were assessed diagnostically. Subjects diagnosed with a clinical mental disorder were allocated to outpatient psychiatric treatment, and subjects with subclinical conditions were allocated to preventive cognitive behavioural therapy. Follow-up was conducted 6 and 12 months after initiation of treatment. We used chi-squared test and F-test to compare the different groups on baseline characteristics and mixed effects linear regression to analyse the treatment effects. RESULTS: Forty (6.8%) of the 586 responders at T1 were diagnosed with a clinical mental disorder and referred to outpatient psychiatric treatment. Thirty-three (5.6%) were affected by a subclinical condition and referred to preventive treatment. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the employees diagnosed with a clinical condition had never received treatment before. Symptom severity decreased significantly for both treated groups until follow-up. When compared to a composed control group, subclinical cases displayed a more rapid initial significant symptomatic decrease on the global symptom scale (coefs = - 0.914, 95% CI [- 1.754, - 0,075]) and anxiety sub-scale (coefs = - 1.043, 95% CI [- 2.021, - 0.066]). This did not apply to the clinical cases as no significant difference in change were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The outreach collaborative model demonstrated an applicability to identify both clinical and subclinical cases, among these a high number of employees with an unmet need for treatment. We found evidence of a positive initial effect on symptomatology from the allocated preventive treatment among the subclinical cases, but not for clinical cases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered at December 18, 2018 at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT03786328 .

Perceived Need for Treatment and Engagement in Mental Health Services Among Community-Referred Racial/Ethnic Minority Adolescents.

This study examines clinical and family predictors of perceived need for treatment and engagement in mental health treatment services among community-referred racial/ethnic minority adolescents and their primary caregivers. Findings indicated that the majority of families perceived a need for treatment, but that perceived need was not associated with treatment engagement. Family factors (i.e., low cohesion and high conflict within the family) predicted perceived need for treatment among adolescents, whereas clinical factors (i.e., adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology) predicted caregiver perceived need for adolescent treatment. Neither clinical nor family factors predicted treatment engagement.

The estimated impact of state-level support for expanded delivery of substance use disorder treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To prevent COVID-19 transmission, some United States (US) federal regulations on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment were suspended in March 2020. This study aimed to quantify the extent of state-level policy uptake and the potential number of people with SUD affected by these policy changes across the US, as well as to assess if policy uptake correlated with rates of people with SUD already in treatment or needing treatment. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of policies implemented as of April 13, 2020. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 50 US states and the District of Columbia MEASUREMENTS: State-level implementation of: oral schedule II controlled substances emergency prescription, extended take-home doses for medication for opioid use disorders (MOUD), home-delivery of take-home medications, telemedicine for schedule II-IV prescriptions, telemedicine for buprenorphine prescribing initiation, and waiver of out-of-state Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration. Rates per 100 000 population of: adults in treatment for SUD, MOUD treatment at facilities with opioid treatment programs, SUD based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV criteria, and needing, but not receiving treatment. FINDINGS: Half of the states (n = 24) enacted no policies, leaving ~460 955 people in treatment and 114 370 people on MOUD pre-pandemic uncovered by any policy expansion. Only telemedicine for buprenorphine initiation was marginally associated with pre-pandemic rate of SUD treatment (OR = 1.003, 95% CI = [1.001, 1.006]) and rate of MOUD therapy (OR = 1.006, 95% CI = [1.002, 1.011]) in univariable analysis, but these associations were no longer significant when controlling for state-level demographics. No policies were associated with state-wide SUD prevalence or rate of unmet treatment need (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-four United States states did not implement at least one federal policy for substance use disorder treatment expansion as of April 2020, leaving approximately half a million people in treatment pre-pandemic potentially without access to treatment or risking exposure to COVID-19 to continue in-person therapies.

Unmet Mental Health Treatment Need and Attitudes Toward Online Mental Health Services Among Community College Students.

OBJECTIVE: A survey assessed use of and attitudes toward online mental health services among community college students to inform how such services may contribute to reducing unmet treatment need. METHODS: A total of 6,034 students completed a Web-based survey on mental health and use of and attitudes toward mental health services. Logistic regression assessed the relationship between prior mental health treatment and attitudes among students with current serious psychological distress. RESULTS: Among students with psychological distress (N=1,557), 28% reported prior in-person service use and 3% reported online mental health services use; most (60%) reported willingness to use online services. Students with no prior in-person treatment were less likely than those with history of in-person treatment to endorse preferences for in-person services (adjusted odds ratio=.54). CONCLUSIONS: Students reported being open to using online mental health services, but utilization was low. Targeted outreach efforts may be required if these services are to reduce unmet treatment need.

Mental Health Service Utilization Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning or Queer College Students.

PURPOSE: College students are at high risk for mental health problems, yet many do not receive treatment even when services are available. Treatment needs may be even higher among sexual minority students, but little is known about how these students differ from heterosexual peers in terms of mental health needs and service utilization. METHODS: A total of 33,220 California college students completed an online survey on mental health needs (e.g., current serious psychological distress and mental health-related academic impairment) and service utilization. Using logistic regressions, we examined differences in student characteristics, mental health service use, and perceived barriers to using on-campus services by sexual minority status. RESULTS: Approximately 7% of students self-identified as sexual minorities. Compared with heterosexual students, sexual minority students endorsed higher rates of psychological distress (18% vs. 26%, p < .001) and mental health-related academic impairment (11% vs. 17%, p < .001) but were 1.87 (95% confidence interval: 1.50-2.34) times more likely to use any mental health services. Sexual minority students were also more likely to report using off-campus services and to endorse barriers to on-campus service use (e.g., embarrassed to use services and uncertainty over eligibility for services). CONCLUSIONS: Sexual minority individuals represent a sizeable minority of college students; these students use mental health services at higher rates than heterosexual peers but have high rates of unmet treatment need. Efforts to address commonly reported barriers to on-campus service use, foster sexual minority-affirmative campus environments, and promote awareness of campus services may help reduce unmet treatment need in this population.