Met and unmet need for mental healthcare before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study published in the European Journal of Public Health, aims to address growing concerns that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will generate large unmet needs for mental healthcare. Using data from an epidemiological psychiatric diagnostic interview survey (n = 2159) authors from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health , University of Oslo and Stavanger University Hospital conducted on a probability sample from the general population, the proportions of met and unmet need for mental healthcare among individuals with and without mental disorders were compared before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results showed no statistical difference in met and unmet need for mental healthcare, but point estimates were suggestive of a higher unmet need for care among those with a current mental disorder after the lock-down period.

Key Points

• Met and unmet need for mental healthcare before and during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway was compared between individuals with current mental disorders, a previous history of mental disorders and no history of mental disorders.
• There was no statistically significant difference in proportions reporting met and unmet need for mental healthcare before and during the pandemic among those with a previous history of mental disorder, nor among those with no history of mental disorder.
• There was no statistically significant difference in proportions reporting met need for mental healthcare before and during the pandemic among those with a current mental disorder.
• Point estimates and borderline statistical significance were suggestive of a higher proportion reporting unmet need for mental healthcare after the lock-down period compared to before the pandemic among those with a current mental disorder.

Find the full article (in English) here.