Mental health treatment seeking behavior of U.S. Army medical staff

Abstract: Since the onset of COVID-19, health care workers (HCWs) continue to experience many challenges putting them at risk for mental health issues and burnout. Employing organizations offer services, such as mental health care, to help mitigate these issues. However, there is little data on the extent to which those working in the U.S. Army's Medical Department experience these issues and how it affects mental health care utilization. This study sought to further examine these factors among a large sample of military HCWs. Anonymous data were collected from 12,939 active-duty soldiers and civilians working in the U.S. Army's Medical Department in the Fall of 2021. All data were collected via electronic survey containing questions on demographics, health, utilization, and attitudes of mental health care. Results showed that over 85% of HCWs reported willingness to utilize mental health care if they needed it, however, of those that indicated a need for care, almost 40% did not seek/receive it. Decreased likelihood of seeking/receiving care was associated with being Asian (OR = 0.5, p < .001), working in clinical services (OR = 0.8, p = .004) and having less than 1 year of experience (OR = 0.6, p = .003). Those experiencing burnout, barriers to care, and self-reliance were 20%-65% less likely to seek or receive mental health care. This study showed that there is a significant gap among HCWs that need mental health care and those who seek or receive treatment. Determining factors that are associated with utilization among those that need it is an important first step to expanding access to care, increasing utilization, and limiting the negative impact of mental health issues.