Identifying mismatch and match between clinical needs and mental healthcare use trajectories in people with anxiety and depression: Results of a longitudinal study

Background: Mismatch between need and mental healthcare (MHC) use (under-and overuse) has mainly been studied with cross-sectional designs, not accurately capturing patterns of persistence or change in clinical burden and MHC-use among persons with depressive and/or anxiety disorders. Aims: Determining and describing [mis]match of longitudinal trajectories of clinical burden and MHC-use. Methods: Six-year longitudinal burden and MHC-use data came from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (n=2981). The sample was split into four subgroups: I) no clinical burden but constant MHC use, II) constant clinical burden but no MHC-use, III) changing clinical burden and MHC-use, and IV) healthy non-users. Within subgroups I)-III), specific clinical burden and MHC trajectories were identified (growth mixture modeling). The resulting classes' associations with predisposing, enabling, and need factors were investigated (regression analysis). Results: Subgroups I-III revealed different trajectories. I) increasing MHC without burden (4.1%). II) slightly increasing (1.9%), strongly increasing (2.4%), and decreasing (9.5%) burden without MHC. III) increasing (41.4%) or decreasing (19.4%) burden and concurrently increasing MHC use (first underuse, then matched care), thus revealing delayed MHC-use. Only having suicidal ideation (p<.001, Cohen's d=.6-1.5) was a significant determinant of being in latter classes compared to underusers (strongly increasing burden without MHC-use). Limitations: More explanatory factors are needed to explain [mis]match. Conclusion: Mismatch occurred as constant underuse or as delayed MHC-use in a high-income country (Netherlands). Additionally, no meaningful class revealed constantly matched care on average. Presence of suicidal ideation could influence the probability of symptomatic individuals receiving matched MHC or not.

Automated summary

This study investigates the mismatch between clinical burden and mental healthcare use among individuals with depressive and/or anxiety disorders. The findings suggest that there is a significant proportion of individuals who either underuse or delay the use of mental healthcare services, highlighting the need for better alignment between need and use of mental healthcare.