Abstract
Background: Perceived need for treatment is a first step along the pathway to effective mental health treatment. Perceived need encompasses a person’s recognition that they have a problem and their belief that professional help is needed to manage the problem. These two components could have different predictors.
Methods: Respondents aged 18+ years with 12-month mental disorders from 25 representative household surveys in 21 countries in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative (n = 12,508). All surveys included questions about perceived need; 16 surveys (13 countries) included additional questions about respondents’ main reason for perceived need—problem recognition or perceived inability to manage without professional help (n = 9814). Associations of three sets of predictors (disorder, socio-demographics, past treatment) with perceived need and its components were examined using Poisson regression models.
Results: Across the 16 surveys with additional questions, 42.4% of respondents with a 12-month mental disorder reported perceived need for treatment. In separate multivariable models for each predictor set: (1) Most disorder types (except alcohol use disorder, specific phobia), disorder severity, and number of disorders were associated with perceived need and both of its components; (2) Sociodemographic factors tended to differentially predict either problem recognition (females, 30–59 years, disabled/unemployed) or need for professional help (females, homemakers, disabled/unemployed, public insurance); (3) Past treatment factors (type of professional, psychotherapy, helpful or unhelpful treatment) were associated with perceived need and both components, except number of past professionals differentially predicted problem recognition. In a consolidated model: employment and insurance became non-significant; type and number of past professionals seen became more important; helpful past treatment predicted greater need for professional help while unhelpful treatment predicted lower problem recognition. Problem recognition was the more important component in determining perceived need for some groups (e.g., severe disorder, people who consulted non-mental health professionals).
Conclusions: Greater clinical need is a key determinant of perceived need for treatment. Findings suggest a need for strategies to address low perceived need (e.g., in males, older people, alcohol use disorders) and lower endorsement of professional treatment in some groups, and to improve patient’s treatment experiences which are important enablers of future help-seeking.
Methods: Respondents aged 18+ years with 12-month mental disorders from 25 representative household surveys in 21 countries in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative (n = 12,508). All surveys included questions about perceived need; 16 surveys (13 countries) included additional questions about respondents’ main reason for perceived need—problem recognition or perceived inability to manage without professional help (n = 9814). Associations of three sets of predictors (disorder, socio-demographics, past treatment) with perceived need and its components were examined using Poisson regression models.
Results: Across the 16 surveys with additional questions, 42.4% of respondents with a 12-month mental disorder reported perceived need for treatment. In separate multivariable models for each predictor set: (1) Most disorder types (except alcohol use disorder, specific phobia), disorder severity, and number of disorders were associated with perceived need and both of its components; (2) Sociodemographic factors tended to differentially predict either problem recognition (females, 30–59 years, disabled/unemployed) or need for professional help (females, homemakers, disabled/unemployed, public insurance); (3) Past treatment factors (type of professional, psychotherapy, helpful or unhelpful treatment) were associated with perceived need and both components, except number of past professionals differentially predicted problem recognition. In a consolidated model: employment and insurance became non-significant; type and number of past professionals seen became more important; helpful past treatment predicted greater need for professional help while unhelpful treatment predicted lower problem recognition. Problem recognition was the more important component in determining perceived need for some groups (e.g., severe disorder, people who consulted non-mental health professionals).
Conclusions: Greater clinical need is a key determinant of perceived need for treatment. Findings suggest a need for strategies to address low perceived need (e.g., in males, older people, alcohol use disorders) and lower endorsement of professional treatment in some groups, and to improve patient’s treatment experiences which are important enablers of future help-seeking.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 17 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-17 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | International Journal of Mental Health Systems |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 23 May 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published online - 23 May 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025.
Data Access Statement
Access to the cross-national World Mental Health (WMH) data is governed by the organizations funding and responsible for survey data collection in each country. These organizations made data available to the WMH consortium through restricted data sharing agreements that do not allow us to release the data to third parties. The exception is that the U.S. data are available for secondary analysis via the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/series/00527.Keywords
- Mental health services
- Substance use disorders
- Mental disorders
- Health professionals
- Treatment history
- Perceived need for treatment
- Perceived helpfulness
