Psychological Distress in Workers’ Compensation Claimants: Prevalence, Predictors and Mental Health Service Use

ObjectivesSerious mental illness is common among those who have experienced a physical workplace injury, yet little is known about mental health service use in this population. This study aims to estimate the proportion of the workplace musculoskeletal injury population experiencing a mental illness, the proportion who access mental health services through the workers’ compensation system and the factors associated with likelihood of accessing services.MethodsA longitudinal cohort study was conducted with a random sample of 615 workers’ compensation claimants followed over three survey waves between June 2014 and July 2015. The primary outcome was receiving any type of mental health service use during this period, as determined by linking survey responses to administrative compensation system records for the 18 months after initial interview.ResultsOf 181 (29.4%) participants who met the case definition for a serious mental illness at one or more of the three interviews, 75 (41.4%) accessed a mental health service during the 18-month observation period. Older age (OR=0.96, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.99) and achieving sustained return to work (OR=0.27, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.69) were associated with reduced odds of mental health service use. Although not significant, being born in Australia was associated with an increased odds of service use (OR=2.23, 95% CI 0.97 to 5.10).ConclusionsThe proportion of injured workers with musculoskeletal conditions experiencing mental illness is high, yet the proportion receiving mental health services is low. More work is needed to explore factors associated with mental health service use in this population, including the effect of returning to work.

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Profiles and Mental Health Correlates of Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use in the Canadian Population: An Exploration of the J-Curve Hypothesis

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674371305800606 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 58 (6) ◽

pp. 344-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alexandre Dumais ◽

Luigi De Benedictis ◽

Christian Joyal ◽

Jean-François Allaire ◽

Alain Lesage ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Health Service ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Service Use ◽

Mental Health Service Use ◽

Health Service Use ◽

Canadian Population ◽

J Curve

Objective: Alcohol and (or) illicit drug use (AIDU) problems are associated with mental health difficulties, but low-to-moderate alcohol consumption may have mental health benefits, compared with abstinence. Our study aimed to explore the hypothesis of a nonlinear, or J-curve, relation between AIDU profiles and psychological distress, psychiatric disorders, and mental health service use in the general Canadian population. Methods: Data were collected from a representative sample of the Canadian population ( n = 36 984). Multiple correspondence analyses and cluster analyses were used to extract AIDU profiles. Sociodemographics, psychological distress, psychiatric disorders, and mental health service use were assessed and compared between profiles. Results: Seven AIDU profiles emerged, including 3 involving risky or problematic AIDU that correlate with major affective disorders, anxiety disorders, suicidal behaviours, and higher levels of psychological distress. No J-curve relation was found for psychiatric disorders and mental health service use. The lifetime-abstainer profile correlates with the lowest rates of psychiatric disorders and mental health service use. Lifetime abstainers are also more often female, immigrant, and unemployed. Compared with other profiles, spirituality is more important in their life. Conclusions: The hypothesis of a nonlinear relation between psychiatric disorders and AIDU was not supported. Lifetime AIDU abstainers have specific sociodemographic and cultural background characteristics in Canada.

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Predictors of mental health service use among individuals with high psychological distress and mental disorders

Psychiatry Research ◽

10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.019 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 270 ◽

pp. 1122-1130

Author(s):

Béatrice Simo ◽

Jean-Marie Bamvita ◽

Jean Caron ◽

Marie-Josée Fleury

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Health Service ◽

Service Use ◽

Mental Health Service Use ◽

Health Service Use ◽

High Psychological Distress

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A randomised test of the effect of medical v. lay idiom on assessment of perceived mental health condition in the USA

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s2045796020000840 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 ◽

Author(s):

J. Breslau ◽

R. McBain ◽

E. C. Wong ◽

E. Roth ◽

M. A. Burnam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Health Service ◽

Service Use ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Service Use ◽

Health Service Use ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

The Impact

Abstract Aims To test the impact of using different idioms in epidemiological interviews on the prevalence and correlates of poor mental health and mental health service use. Methods We conducted a randomised methodological experiment in a nationally representative sample of the US adult population, comparing a lay idiom, which asked about ‘problems with your emotions or nerves’ with a more medical idiom, which asked about ‘problems with your mental health’. Differences across study arms in the associations of endorsement of problems with the Kessler-6 (a validated assessment of psychological distress), demographic characteristics, self-rated health and mental health service use were examined. Results Respondents were about half as likely to endorse a problem when asked with the more medical idiom (18.1%) than when asked with the lay idiom (35.1%). The medical idiom had a significantly larger area under the ROC curve when compared against a validated measure of psychological distress than the lay idiom (0.91 v. 0.87, p = 0.012). The proportion of the population who endorsed a problem but did not receive treatment in the past year was less than half as large for the medical idiom (7.90%) than for the lay idiom (20.94%). Endorsement of problems differed in its associations with age, sex, race/ethnicity and self-rated health depending on the question idiom. For instance, the odds of endorsing problems were threefold higher in the youngest than the oldest age group when the medical idiom was used (OR = 3.07; 95% CI 1.47–6.41) but did not differ across age groups when the lay idiom was used (OR = 0.76; 95% CI 0.43–1.36). Conclusion Choice of idiom in epidemiological questionnaires can affect the apparent correlates of poor mental health and service use. Cultural change within populations over time may require changes in instrument wording to maintain consistency in epidemiological measurement of psychiatric conditions.

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