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Stigma hinders physicians from seeking mental health treatment
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Seventy-five percent of female physicians reported that medical board questions regarding mental health history may affect the decision to seek treatment and 69% reported a stigma-related reason for avoiding treatment.
“A unique barrier to successful diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders among physicians and other professional groups such as lawyers is that in many states, these professionals are required to report any mental illness diagnosis or treatment to their state licensing board,” Katherine J. Gold MD, MSW, MS, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues wrote. “Although in some states questions are limited to illness which impairs or may impair their work performance, other states ask blanket questions about whether the physician has been diagnosed or treated within the last 2, 5, 10 years or even ever in their lifetime.”
To assess mental health history and treatment, perceptions of stigma, opinions on state licensing questions and experiences with reporting, researchers administered a 24-question survey to 2,106 female physician-parents on a closed Facebook group. Study participants represented all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and were aged 30 to 59 years.
Overall, 33% of participants indicated they received a mental health diagnosis since medical school and 49% reported they were treated for a mental health disorder.
Six percent of participants who reported receiving a mental health diagnosis or treatment indicated they disclosed their mental health conditions to state medical boards.
Reasons for non-disclosing included feeling that the diagnosis was not a potential risk to patient safety (75%), was not relevant to clinical care (70%) and was not the business of the state medical board (63%).
Seventy-five percent of the cohort agreed or strongly agreed that medical board questions regarding mental health diagnosis or treatment affects the decision to seek treatment.
Forty-four percent of participants reported that they did not seek treatment despite believing they met criteria for a mental health disorder.
Reasons for not seeking treatment included feeling that they could work through the disorder without help (68%), lack of time (52%), feeling embarrassed or shamed if diagnosed (45%), and not wanting to report diagnosis to a state medical board or hospital (44%).
Researchers found that 69% of participants reported a stigma-related reason for avoiding treatment.
“This study emphasizes the critical role of stigma in deterring treatment for physicians affected by mental illness. The data also raise serious concerns about how questions on medical licensing applications and physician beliefs about the negative consequences of reporting may contribute to this stigma and reluctance in help-seeking,” the researchers wrote. “Given increasing legal concerns about broad questions regarding mental health on professional licensing exams, and the wide variation among state boards as to what they ask and how they manage positive responses, we assert that it is time for a reexamination of how physicians are assessed for fitness to practice with respect to mental health.” – by Amanda Oldt
Disclosure: Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.