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Mental health service use and treatment adequacy for anxiety disorders in Canada

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

This study examined mental health service use, minimal standards of treatment adequacy and correlates of service use and treatment adequacy for anxiety disorders in Canada.

Method

Data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS 1.2, 2002). Respondents (n = 1,803) met criteria for panic disorder, agoraphobia and/or social phobia in the past 12 months. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate patterns of associations between respondent characteristics, service use and treatment adequacy.

Results

The prevalence of service use for mental health problems in the past 12 months was approximately 36.9% among respondents with anxiety disorders. The rates of minimal standards of treatment adequacy ranged from 36.8% among those consulting exclusively in primary care to 51.5% among those consulting exclusively in specialised mental health services, and reached 79.5% for respondents consulting healthcare professionals in both sectors of care. Correlates of treatment adequacy included age, education level, marital status, urbanicity medical insurance, acceptability of care, comorbid mental disorders and limitations of activities.

Conclusion

These findings emphasize the need to improve the access to mental health services and the quality of care for individuals with anxiety disorders in primary care.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by postdoctoral fellowships to the first author from the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec and the Transdisciplinary Training Program in Public and Population Health Research, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Training Initiative. While the research and analysis in the report are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Pasquale Roberge, Louise Fournier, Arnaud Duhoux & Cat Tuong Nguyen

  2. Research Centre of the University of Montreal Hospital Centre (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada

    Pasquale Roberge & Louise Fournier

  3. Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, 190 Crémazie blvd. East, Montreal, QC, H2P 1E2, Canada

    Pasquale Roberge, Louise Fournier & Arnaud Duhoux

  4. Scientific Institute for Quality of Health Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (RUNMC), Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Mirrian Smolders

Authors
  1. Pasquale Roberge
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  2. Louise Fournier
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  3. Arnaud Duhoux
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  4. Cat Tuong Nguyen
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  5. Mirrian Smolders
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Correspondence to Pasquale Roberge.

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Roberge, P., Fournier, L., Duhoux, A. et al. Mental health service use and treatment adequacy for anxiety disorders in Canada. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 46, 321–330 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0186-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0186-2

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