Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the use of mental health consultation for depressive symptoms.MethodsWe used data from the 2013 Community Health Survey, which included responses from 13,269 individuals who reported that they had experienced depressive symptoms for more than 2 weeks in Korea. We investigated associations between mental health consultation rates for depressive symptoms and sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the significance of associations.ResultsAmong participants who report depressive symptoms, 16.0% (n = 2120) undergo mental health consultation. Respondents with a college education or over are more likely to undergo mental health consultation (odds ratio (OR) = 1.49; 95% CI: 1.21–1.84) than respondents with less education. Individuals aged 70 years or above are less likely to receive mental health consultation than those aged between 19 and 29 years. Females exhibit higher mental health consultation rates than males. Respondents who are divorced show greater odds of receiving mental health consultation than respondents who are married and cohabitate with their spouse.ConclusionsThis study indicates that rates of use of mental health consultation services are lower among older adults and men and higher among divorced people. Educational level shows a significant positive association with mental health consultation among Koreans. The results could have implications for mental health policy in many ways in Korea.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the use of mental health consultation for depressive symptoms
The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with the use of mental health consultation in Korea
The findings reveal that educational level has a positive association with the use of mental health consultation services
Summary
The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the use of mental health consultation for depressive symptoms. Questions about why individuals do not seek mental health services for treatment of their mental illness and how to improve use of mental health consultation services are important topics worldwide [1, 2]. People with depression often still do not receive mental health consultation for depression [4]. People with depression are less likely to obtain continuous treatment for depression due to lack of information on how to manage depression and the stigma associated with the Depression is an important issue, because it is a major cause of suicide [10]. Mounting evidence suggests that depressive disorder is strongly associated with completed suicide [11, 12]. Addressing depression is an important issue for Korea
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