Seeking Help for Mental Health Problems outside the Conventional Health Care System: Results from the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD)
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: In certain countries, it is not uncommon to turn to professionals outside the conventional health care system for psychological problems. As this situation is not well documented in Europe, we assessed use of nonconventional care for mental health in 6 European countries. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in representative samples of noninstitutionalized adults in 6 European countries. Participants (n = 8796) completed a survey, which included, among other items, the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 and in-depth questions about lifetime consultations for mental health problems. RESULTS: Among the respondents (n = 2928) who reported having already sought help in their lifetime for psychological problems (20.0%), 8.6% turned to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers, such as chiropractors and herbalists, and a similar proportion (8.4%) to religious advisers such as ministers, priests, or rabbis. Only a small proportion (2.9%) consulted only these professionals for their problems. CAM providers were more frequently used in the Netherlands (13.5%) and Germany (9.4%), while religious advisers were more often consulted in Italy (12.6%) and Germany (11.6%). Multivariate analyses confirmed differences between countries and revealed that people turning to religious advisers tended to be older, foreign born, and with alcohol problems, whereas those consulting CAM providers were younger, wealthier, and more frequently depressed. CONCLUSIONS: In Europe, patients who turn to CAM therapists and those who seek help from religious advisers for psychological problems are not exactly the same. In addition, these professionals are not consulted frequently in most countries, and are almost always associated with more traditional follow-up when used.
Authors: Christine Sevilla-Dedieu, Viviane Kovess-Masféty, Josep Maria Haro, Anna Fernández, Gemma Vilagut, Jordi Alonso, ESEMeD–Mental Health Disability: A European Assessment in Year 2000 Investigators
Institutions: Mutuelle Générale de l'Éducation Nationale, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique, Université Paris Descartes, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Hospital Del Mar, Municipal Institute for Medical Research, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: World Mental Health Consortium Annual Meeting 2003-07, Social Role Disability and Mental-Physical Co-Morbidity, Drug Dependence Epidemiology and Enviromics, CROSS-NATIONAL STUDIES OF DRUG INVOLVEMENT: WMH2000, G4134838996, Risk Factors for Psychopathology in the WHO WMH Surveys, Lebanon-Epidemiology: The NCS Replication Study
OpenAlex ID: W76188493