Help-seeking behaviours for psychological distress amongst Chinese patients

Abstract

BackgroundThe stepped care model for psychological distress has been promoted in recent years, leading to the enhancing roles of primary care professionals and alternative sources of help. However, most of the research findings come from Western countries. This study investigates help-seeking behaviours of Chinese patients among different types of professional and alternative sources for psychological distress in Hong Kong.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted with 1626 adult primary care attenders from 13 private and 6 public clinics, 650 (40.0%) reported that they had ever experienced psychological distress. Their help-seeking behaviours, demographic background and current distress level (measured by GHQ-12) were analysed.ResultsAmong the respondents with experience of psychological distress, 48.2% had sought help from professional and/or alternative sources for their distress [10.2% from professionals only, 12.6% from alternative sources only, and 25.4% from both]. Those who had sought help from professionals only were more likely to be less educated and with lower income. In contrast, those using alternative sources only were more likely to be younger, better educated, and have higher income. Allowing multiple responses, psychiatrists (22.3%) was reported to be the most popular professional source, followed by primary care physicians (17.5%), clinical psychologists (12.8%) and social workers/counsellors (12.0%). Family members/friends (28.6%) was the top alternative source, followed by exercise/sports (21.8%), religious/spiritual support (16.9%) and self-help websites/books/pamphlets (8.9%).ConclusionWhile psychiatrists remain the most popular professional source of help to the Chinese patients in Hong Kong, primary care professionals and alternative sources also play significant roles. Distressed patients who are younger, better educated and have higher income are more likely to use alternative sources only. The outcomes need further research.

Chinese perspectives on primary care for common mental disorders: Barriers and policy implications

“…A study in Hong Kong found that 13% of the primary care patients with distress experience used informal sources of help only, such as family members/friends, exercise and religious support. Besides, 52% had not sought any formal or informal help (Sun et al, 2017).…”

Young People Seeking Help Online for Mental Health: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

“…Help-seeking is a complicated process influenced by a person’s attitudes, preferences and goals. For this reason, many people make use of a multitude of sources of help [12-14]. Previous research has found that engaging in help-seeking behavior, both formal and informal, is an important protective factor for young people’s mental health [15].…”

“…A study by Dooley & Fitzgerald [15] indicated that 77% of young people were likely to use the Internet to find information or support for a mental health concern. The increased role of alternative sources of help, such as YouTube, bloggers or Influencers, self-help websites and discussion forums, have to be considered [12]. There is a need to investigate how young people use the Internet as part of their help-seeking strategies and how they can be supported in these strategies.…”

A Chinese help-seeking model for psychological distress in primary care: An adaptation of Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use

“…Mental health service users in China tend to be older and female Lam, Wong, et al, 2015;Zhou et al, 2012). Younger adults are more likely to use alternative help such as online resources (Chen & Zhu, 2016;Sun et al, 2017). Health beliefs affect trust in different treatment approaches.…”

“…Health behaviors. Influenced by the factors described above, distressed individuals may 1) use professional sources of help such as PCPs, psychiatrists, and other health professionals, 2) use informal sources such as family, friends, self-help websites, or books, or 3) not seek help (Jiang et al, 2018;Shi, Lu, et al, 2020;Shi, Shen, et al, 2020;Sun et al, 2017). Demographics, health beliefs, and social structure affect help-seeking preferences.…”