Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


JEH_Dissertation_5.27.14.pdf (1.5 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

A Brief Intervention on Treatment-seeking: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care

Heiy, Jane E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1401189193

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Untreated mental illness is a significant public health problem with nearly 58 million American adults suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder each year and only 30% of these individuals seeking professional care. Without adequate treatment, mental illness can result in unstable education and employment, interpersonal difficulties, physical ailment, and suicide. It also accounts for more than 100 billion dollars in economic costs in the United States alone every year. One's decision to seek treatment is likely influenced by sociodemographic, cognitive, and behavioral factors. Limited research, however, has been completed examining these constructs in relation to actual service use, particularly over time with individuals in distress. Further, many constructs such as insight, attitudes, and avoidance appear to be malleable, yet few interventions have been designed or tested targeting these variables and encouraging service use. The current study examined sociodemographic, cognitive, and behavioral constructs associated with mental health care service use in prospective design with a clinically-distressed sample. Participant recruitment was completed in a primary care facility as individuals in distress often utilize primary care as an initial pathway for help. Primary care patients reporting significant depressive symptoms were randomized into one of three intervention arms designed to increase mental health service use. The effect of an avoidance-reduction intervention on participant treatment-seeking following referral was contrasted against enhanced-referral and psychoeducation interventions. Ethnic minority-status and attitudes toward treatment were the strongest predictors of service use. The effect of intervention on increased service use was trending toward a significant effect, and the effect of the avoidance-reduction intervention on the reduction of depressive symptoms, compared to the other two conditions was moderate. Results of this study shed light on barriers to treatment-seeking by those in need and may be used to enhance best practices and ensure adequate mental health treatment for primary care patients.
Jennifer Cheavens, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Daniel Strunk, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Michael Edwards, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
142 p.
Psychology; Psychotherapy; Public Health
treatment-seeking; help-seeking; dissemination; depression; treatment

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Heiy, J. E. (2014). A Brief Intervention on Treatment-seeking: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1401189193

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Heiy, Jane. A Brief Intervention on Treatment-seeking: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care. 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1401189193.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Heiy, Jane. "A Brief Intervention on Treatment-seeking: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1401189193

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1401189193
1,095
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License A Brief Intervention on Treatment-seeking: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care by Jane E. Heiy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.