Does educational background explain inequalities in care service use for mental health problems in the Dutch general population?

Authors: Have M.¹; Oldehinkel A.²; Vollebergh W.¹; Ormel J.²

Source: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Volume 107, Number 3, March 2003 , pp. 178-187(10)

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Abstract:

ten Have M, Oldehinkel A, Vollebergh W, Ormel J. Does educational background explain inequalities in care service use for mental health problems in the Dutch general population?

Acta Psychiatr Scand 2003: 107: 178–187. © Blackwell Munksgaard 2003. Objective:

To investigate whether (1) education predicts the use of care services for mental health problems, independently of mental disorder and functional impairment and (2) education modifies the association between mental disorder and service use. Method:

Predictors of service use were recorded at baseline, and service use itself at 12-month follow-up, in a representative sample (N=7076) of the Dutch population, using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results:

People with more education were less likely to use primary care but more likely to use mental health care. The effects on both types of care remained significant after adjustment for mental disorder and functional impairment. Lower education tended to strengthen the association between mood or anxiety disorder and primary care use. Conclusion:

Further research on inequalities in service use will benefit from additional explanatory analyses and from the inclusion of sociopsychological variables, like cost-benefit considerations in decisions to use services.

Keywords: cohort studies; mental disorders; mental health services; socioeconomic factors

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00074.x

Affiliations: 1: Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht and 2: Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Publication date: 2003-03-01