Healthcare Administrator, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, New England, Newport, Rhode Island.
Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, 115 Heart Drive, Greenville, NC 27834 (
Prev Chronic Dis. 2023 Sep 28;20:E85. doi: 10.5888/pcd20.220419.
The prevalence of mental health disorders is rising among US service members; however, research is limited on their use of mental health care. The objective of our study was to determine whether racial and ethnic disparities exist in the use of mental health care and perceived mental health stigma among active-duty service members.
We obtained data from a sample of 17,166 active-duty service members who participated in the 2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behavior Survey (HRBS). Racial and ethnic groups included Black, Hispanic, White, and other. Yes-no questions about use of mental health care and perceived mental health stigma were our outcome variables. We used multiple logistic regression to assess racial and ethnic differences in mental health care use and perceived mental health stigma by service members. Significance was set at P <.05.
In 2018, approximately 25.5% of service members self-reported using mental health services, and 34.2% self-reported perceived mental health stigma. Hispanic service members (AOR = 0.78) and service members in the "other" racial and ethnic group (AOR = 0.81) were less likely than their White counterparts to have used mental health care. Black (AOR = 0.68) and Hispanic (AOR = 0.86) service members were less likely than their White counterparts to self-report perceived mental health stigma.
The 2018 HRBS showed racial and ethnic differences in mental health care use and perceived stigma among US active-duty service members. Perceived stigma was a barrier to use of mental health care among service members with a mental health condition. Culture-sensitive programs customized for different racial and ethnic groups are needed to promote mental health care and reduce perceptions of stigma associated with its use.
美国军人中心理健康障碍的患病率正在上升；然而，关于他们对心理健康护理的使用情况的研究有限。我们研究的目的是确定在现役军人中，使用心理健康护理和感知心理健康污名方面是否存在种族和民族差异。
我们从参加 2018 年国防部健康相关行为调查（HRBS）的 17166 名现役军人中获得了数据。种族和族裔群体包括黑人、西班牙裔、白人和其他。关于使用心理健康护理和感知心理健康污名的是/否问题是我们的结果变量。我们使用多因素逻辑回归来评估现役军人中心理健康护理使用和感知心理健康污名的种族和民族差异。显著性水平设为 P <.05。
在 2018 年，大约 25.5%的军人报告使用了心理健康服务，34.2%报告了感知到的心理健康污名。西班牙裔军人（AOR=0.78）和其他种族和族裔群体的军人（AOR=0.81）比白人同行更不可能使用心理健康护理。黑人和西班牙裔军人（AOR=0.68 和 AOR=0.86）比白人同行更不可能报告感知到的心理健康污名。
2018 年 HRBS 显示，美国现役军人在使用心理健康护理和感知污名方面存在种族和民族差异。感知到的污名将成为有心理健康问题的军人使用心理健康护理的障碍。需要为不同种族和族裔群体定制文化敏感的计划，以促进心理健康护理并减少与使用相关的污名感知。
