Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study
Background/objectives: Mental health issues are prevalent among healthcare workers, but help-seeking behavior in this groups remains under-researched. The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of and barriers to mental health help-seeking among healthcare workers in Canada, compared to wor...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Health Services Insights |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/11786329251316698 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832086940896198656 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabriela Castañeda-Millán Alexia M. Haritos Edris Formuli Maryna Mazur Kishana Balakrishnar Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia |
| author_facet | Gabriela Castañeda-Millán Alexia M. Haritos Edris Formuli Maryna Mazur Kishana Balakrishnar Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia |
| author_sort | Gabriela Castañeda-Millán |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/objectives: Mental health issues are prevalent among healthcare workers, but help-seeking behavior in this groups remains under-researched. The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of and barriers to mental health help-seeking among healthcare workers in Canada, compared to workers from other sectors. Design: This quantitative study analyzed cross-sectional data from Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) from October 2022 to January 2024. Methods: The total sample consisted of 8,191 workers from various sectors, including 419 healthcare workers. We examined prevalence of help-seeking, barriers to accessing mental health support, and predictors of help seeking using descriptive and inferential statistics. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and help-seeking. Results: Healthcare workers were more likely to seek mental help support compared to workers from other sectors (OR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.20). Healthcare workers least likely to seek mental health support were male (OR 0.58, CI 0.52, 0.66), residing in Quebec (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.59), or of older age (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.52). Key barriers to mental health help-seeking identified among healthcare workers included concerns about exposure to COVID-19 (33%), preference for self-management (25%), concerns about the safety of care options (18%), and lack of knowledge on how or where to seek help (13%). Conclusions: This study provides valuable insight into the barriers and predictors of mental help-seeking behavior among healthcare workers. Findings underscore the need for workplaces to foster safe, supportive, and inclusive environments to better support healthcare workers facing mental health challenges. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7207ef05b27145b3bc6e11fd9c3aeb76 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1178-6329 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Services Insights |
| spelling | doaj-art-7207ef05b27145b3bc6e11fd9c3aeb762025-02-06T09:03:21ZengSAGE PublishingHealth Services Insights1178-63292025-02-011810.1177/11786329251316698Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative StudyGabriela Castañeda-Millán0Alexia M. Haritos1Edris Formuli2Maryna Mazur3Kishana Balakrishnar4Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long5Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia6Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, ColombiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, CanadaDepartment of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, CanadaDepartment of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, CanadaDepartment of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, CanadaInstitute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, CanadaBackground/objectives: Mental health issues are prevalent among healthcare workers, but help-seeking behavior in this groups remains under-researched. The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of and barriers to mental health help-seeking among healthcare workers in Canada, compared to workers from other sectors. Design: This quantitative study analyzed cross-sectional data from Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) from October 2022 to January 2024. Methods: The total sample consisted of 8,191 workers from various sectors, including 419 healthcare workers. We examined prevalence of help-seeking, barriers to accessing mental health support, and predictors of help seeking using descriptive and inferential statistics. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and help-seeking. Results: Healthcare workers were more likely to seek mental help support compared to workers from other sectors (OR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.20). Healthcare workers least likely to seek mental health support were male (OR 0.58, CI 0.52, 0.66), residing in Quebec (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.59), or of older age (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.52). Key barriers to mental health help-seeking identified among healthcare workers included concerns about exposure to COVID-19 (33%), preference for self-management (25%), concerns about the safety of care options (18%), and lack of knowledge on how or where to seek help (13%). Conclusions: This study provides valuable insight into the barriers and predictors of mental help-seeking behavior among healthcare workers. Findings underscore the need for workplaces to foster safe, supportive, and inclusive environments to better support healthcare workers facing mental health challenges.https://doi.org/10.1177/11786329251316698 |
| spellingShingle | Gabriela Castañeda-Millán Alexia M. Haritos Edris Formuli Maryna Mazur Kishana Balakrishnar Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study Health Services Insights |
| title | Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study |
| title_full | Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study |
| title_short | Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study |
| title_sort | exploring health seeking behaviors among healthcare workers and the general population during the covid 19 pandemic a retrospective quantitative study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/11786329251316698 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrielacastanedamillan exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT alexiamharitos exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT edrisformuli exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT marynamazur exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT kishanabalakrishnar exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT baozhustephanielong exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy AT behdinnowrouzikia exploringhealthseekingbehaviorsamonghealthcareworkersandthegeneralpopulationduringthecovid19pandemicaretrospectivequantitativestudy |