Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this review was to examine Indian research on help-seeking for mental health problems in adults.Design/methodology/approachOriginal Indian research studies on help-seeking for mental health, published from the year 2001−2019 were searched on PubMed, EBSCO, ProQuest and OVID using a set of relevant keywords. After applying exclusion criteria, 52 relevant research studies were identified.FindingsThe reviewed studies spanned a variety of themes such as barriers and facilitators to help-seeking, sources of help-seeking, causal attributions as well as other correlates of help-seeking, process of help-seeking and interventions to increase help-seeking. The majority of these studies were carried out in general community samples or treatment-seeking samples. Very few studies incorporated non-treatment seeking distressed samples. There is a severe dearth of studies on interventions to improve help-seeking. Studies indicate multiple barriers to seeking professional help and highlight that mere knowledge about illness and availability of professional services may be insufficient to minimize delays in professional help-seeking.Originality/valueHelp-seeking in the Indian context is often a family-based decision-making process. Multi-pronged help-seeking interventions that include components aimed at reducing barriers experienced by non-treatment seeking distressed persons and empowering informal support providers with knowledge and skills for encouraging professional help-seeking in their significant others may be useful.
Highlights
Despite the availability of evidence-based cost-effective interventions, the treatment gap for mental disorders is very high, leading to increased burden and disability
This study aimed to provide a review of Indian research on the factors and processes related to help-seeking for mental health problems in adults, utilization and experiences of services during the help-seeking process as well as interventions that aim to enhance professional help-seeking for mental health issues in the Indian context
Studies across sections reveal that help-seeking is a complex process, influenced by multiple interacting factors ranging from education, socioeconomic status and background, to perceived causal attributions, beliefs related to treatment effectiveness along with a preference for self-reliance and informal sources, perceptions of the severity of one’s problem and perceived social consequences of seeking professional help
Summary
Despite the availability of evidence-based cost-effective interventions, the treatment gap for mental disorders is very high, leading to increased burden and disability. The widespread treatment gap has been attributed to various demand- and supply-related barriers. According to the National Mental Health Survey 2015–16 conducted in India, the main demand-side barriers consisted of low help-seeking inclination, low perceived need, inadequate awareness and socio-cultural beliefs and stigma, whereas, the supply-side barriers included inadequate, unevenly disseminated and inefficiently used resources [1]. The focus on increasing access to mental health care to reduce the treatment gap has been more on the supply-side, while the demand-side factors, such as help-seeking inclinations and behaviors have been given less important due to their complex nature [2]. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode
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