Work

Who seeks help? Characteristics of doctors accessing mental health support in England: 4-year national review

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Mental health difficulties affect the well-being of doctors and compromise the delivery of healthcare. However, large-scale data on doctors' mental health needs are limited. AIMS: Describe patterns of self-referrals for mental health support among doctors in England and explore associations with demographic factors, speciality, neurodevelopmental and mental health indicators. METHOD: Observational study using data from doctors who self-referred for mental health difficulties to a national service in England over a 4-year period. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between speciality and mental health indicators. RESULTS: Of the 16 815 doctors who self-referred during the study period, 80% were under the age of 49 and 70.6% were female with the two largest ethnicities being 65.1% White and 22.7% Asian. Women were more likely to report higher scores for depression (odds ratio 0.90, 95% CI = 0.84 to 0.97), anxiety (odds ratio 0.78, 95% CI = 0.72 to 0.84) and psychological distress (odds ratio 0.78, 95% CI = 0.70 to 0.87), but males were more likely to screen positive for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Doctors in general practice accounted for 46.3% of referrals. Compared with them, doctors in most other specialities had higher odds of elevated mental health scores across all measures, including ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight a significant mental health burden among self-referring doctors, particularly for females and doctors in non-general practice specialities. Tailored and easily accessible support strategies that account for both demographic and professional contexts are essential to address the diverse mental health needs of the medical workforce.

Source: BJPsych Open

DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2025.10910