A Pilot Study of Barriers to Psychiatric Treatment among Japanese Healthcare Workers

Abstract

Background: The medical service industry has the highest number of industry-classified workers’ compensation claims related to mental disorders. They are a group of people who particularly need mental health care.

Aims: To investigate the barriers to seeking psychiatric treatment among healthcare workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted for healthcare workers. We assessed the relationship between barriers to psychiatric treatment, stress perception, coping methods, and demographic variables.

Results: There were 91 respondents in the final analysis (participants’ mean age was 34.73±11.41). Factor analysis identified three factors that affect resistance to seeking treatment (?=0.83): 1) anxiety toward psychiatric medicine, 2) resistance to psychiatric visits, and 3) lack of belief in the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment. Correlation analysis indicated that resistance to psychiatric treatment increased with age (r=0.21, p<0.05). In addition, women scored significantly higher than men concerning resistance toward psychiatric visits, and doctors scored lower than those in other occupations on this measure.

Conclusion: These results indicated that a main component of resistance was related to resistance toward the word “psychiatric”. It may be useful to avoid using the word “psychiatric” with individuals belonging to groups with high resistance to psychiatric treatment when suggesting that they consult a psychiatrist.