Service members’ perceptions of tangible and intangible barriers to mental health care access

Abstract: Despite the global research focus on the mental health of military personnel, certain aspects, particularly barriers to accessing mental health care while serving in the military, require further exploration. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional research design, this study used a survey to capture service members’ perceptions concerning the significance of various tangible and intangible barriers to accessing mental health care. The tangible barriers include logistical challenges, appointment wait times, and psychiatric/provider availability. Intangible barriers include concerns such as negative leadership views and negative career impacts, stigma, and confidentiality concerns. Service members at a joint base were intercepted in one of the dining facilities. There was a reluctance to participate and some expressed concerns about confidentiality although the survey was anonymous. One hundred and eleven surveys were completed. This study finds that more than 50% of service members who expressed an opinion perceive appointment wait times, provider availability, negative views from leadership, stigma and confidentiality concerns to be statistically significant barriers to accessing mental health care in the military. Additionally, the study found that service members with over 10 years of service had a higher perception that mental health care utilization carried negative career impacts than those with less service. There were no statistically significant differences in perceptions of mental health care accessibility barriers based on gender, age, and rank. Recommendations include policy changes to streamline the self-referral process where service members do not have to inform their leadership of mental health appointments.