Fukuda Yui, Taguchi Atsuko, Futami Akane, Umegaki Yusuke, Quy Pham Nguyen, Nakajima Toshihiko, Uezato Akihito
Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa, 252-0816, Japan.
Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa, 252-0816, Japan.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 29;25(1):359. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21615-9.
Foreign workers are at risk for depression, and Vietnamese people tend to be reluctant to seek professional mental health care. Although Vietnamese people are the largest population among foreign workers in Japan, evidence concerning their help-seeking experiences and strategies to promote help-seeking in this population is lacking. This study aimed to identify the percentage of Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan who have sought help from healthcare professionals for depressive symptoms and to explore the factors related to their intentions to seek help from a psychiatrist.
An online questionnaire was administered to Vietnamese migrants working in Japan from October 5, 2021, to November 1, 2021. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores were calculated to measure the severity of the respondents' depression. Help-seeking experiences related to depressive symptoms were also investigated. The General Help-Seeking Questionnaire Vignette Version (GHSQ-V) was modified and adapted to measure the respondents' intention to seek help from a psychiatrist for depressive symptoms. To investigate the factors related to help-seeking intention, potential factors were selected from literature reviews and discussions with professionals in the field. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted.
A total of 803 eligible data points were collected. Among the 53.5% of participants who scored 10 or more on the PHQ-9, 4.4% had sought help from a healthcare professional in Japan. A lower preference for coping on one's own, greater recognition of the effectiveness of help, greater ability to make work adjustments, and a higher level of Japanese language proficiency were related to greater intentions to seek help from a psychiatrist.
Many Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan are unable to seek help from healthcare professionals for depressive symptoms. It may be beneficial to acknowledge not only linguistic barriers but also other related factors when planning strategies to enhance Vietnamese migrant workers' intentions to seek help from psychiatrists.
外籍劳工有患抑郁症的风险，而越南人往往不愿寻求专业的心理健康护理。尽管越南人是在日本的外籍劳工中人数最多的群体，但缺乏关于他们寻求帮助的经历以及促进该群体寻求帮助的策略的证据。本研究旨在确定在日本的越南移徙工人中因抑郁症状而向医疗保健专业人员寻求帮助的比例，并探讨与他们向精神科医生寻求帮助的意愿相关的因素。
于2021年10月5日至2021年11月1日对在日本工作的越南移民进行了在线问卷调查。计算患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）得分以衡量受访者抑郁症的严重程度。还调查了与抑郁症状相关的寻求帮助的经历。对通用寻求帮助问卷 vignette 版本（GHSQ-V）进行了修改和调整，以衡量受访者因抑郁症状向精神科医生寻求帮助的意愿。为了调查与寻求帮助意愿相关的因素，从文献综述和与该领域专业人员的讨论中选择了潜在因素。计算了描述性统计数据，并进行了多元逻辑回归分析。
共收集到803个合格数据点。在PHQ-9得分在10分及以上的53.5%的参与者中，4.4%的人曾在日本向医疗保健专业人员寻求帮助。较少倾向于独自应对、更认可帮助的有效性、更强的工作调整能力以及更高的日语水平与向精神科医生寻求帮助的意愿更强有关。
许多在日本的越南移徙工人因抑郁症状无法向医疗保健专业人员寻求帮助。在制定提高越南移徙工人向精神科医生寻求帮助意愿的策略时，不仅要认识到语言障碍，还要认识到其他相关因素，这可能会有所帮助。
