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The influence of state mental health perceptions and spending on an individual's use of mental health services
Richardson, J., Morgenstern, H., Crider, R., & Gonzalez, O. (2013). The influence of state mental health perceptions and spending on an individual's use of mental health services. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(4), 673-683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0520-y
To explore the possible contextual effects of state-level mental health perceptions and public spending for mental health treatment on an individual's use of mental health services, independent of the individual's own perceptions.
Cross-sectional data from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used. A total of 216,514 participants from 35 states and the District of Columbia were included in the study. Logistic regression and multilevel modeling were used to estimate the effects of individual-level characteristics and three state-level factors-per capita spending on community mental health services, aggregated perceptions of the effectiveness of mental health treatment and the stigma of mental illness-on the individual's current use of mental health services.
Adjusting for the individual's perceptions and characteristics, state-level perception of treatment effectiveness was positively associated with the use of mental health services [odds ratio (OR) for 5 % increase in the percentage perceiving effectiveness = 1.08; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.16]. This association was strongest for individuals who experienced 1-4 days of mental distress in the past 30 days (OR = 1.17; 95 % CI 1.06, 1.29). State-level public spending on community mental health services was also positively associated with an individual's use of mental health services (OR for a $40 increase in spending = 1.09; 95 % CI 1.01, 1.17); however, state-level perceptions of mental-illness stigma was not.
Our findings suggest there may be contextual effects of state-level perceptions of treatment effectiveness and state spending on community mental health services on the use of mental health services.