Barriers to help seeking for mental disorders in a rural impoverished population

This study examined barriers to seeking mental health care reported by indi viduals in a rural impoverished population, by screening 646 randomly selec ted adults for depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse. Respondents who scre ened positive were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) no interve ntion, (2) an educational intervention alone, or (3) the educational interv ention in the presence of a significant other. Those who screened positive for disorders cited barriers to care at significantly higher rates than res pondents who screened negative. Respondents who received the educational in tervention endorsed several barriers at significantly lower rates in the fo llow-up telephone call (subsequent to the intervention) than in the origina l interview (prior to the intervention). Virtually all respondents in a sub sample of 142 subjects (99.3%) said they would seek mental health care if t hey thought mental health services would help them.