A Pilot Study of Barriers to Psychiatric Treatment among Japanese Healthcare Workers

Background: The medical service industry has the highest number of industry-classified workers’ compensation claims related to mental disorders. They are a group of people who particularly need mental health care. Aims: T o investigate the barriers to seeking psychiatric treatment among healthcare workers. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted for healthcare workers. We assessed the relationship between barriers to psychiatric treatment, stress perception, coping methods, and demographic variables. Results: T here were 91 respondents in the final analysis (participants’ mean age was 34.73 ± 11.41). Factor analysis identified three factors that affect resistance to seeking treatment (?=0.83): 1) anxiety toward psychiatric medicine , 2) resistance to psychiatric visits , and 3) lack of belief in the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment . C orrelation analysis indicated that resistance to psychiatric treatment increased with age (r=0.21, p<0.05). In addition, women scored significantly higher than men concerning resistance toward psychiatric visits, and doctors scored lower than those in other occupations on this measure. Conclusion: These results indicated that a main component of resistance was related to resistance toward the word “psychiatric” . It may be useful to avoid using the word “ psychiatric ” with individuals belonging to groups with high resistance to psychiatric treatment when suggesting that they consult a psychiatrist.