ArticleSSM - population health2021
Barriers to healthcare access among U.S. adults with mental health challenges: A population-based study.
Article in SSM - population health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 153 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
153 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 293 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biofeedback-based Digital Games and Well-being in Childhood: A Systematic Review.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual Service Delivery in Mental Health and Substance Use Care: A Systematic Review of Preference Elicitation Studies.Community mental health journal · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Restriction-Resumption Protocols on Mood and Anxiety in Healthy Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- A crowdsourced megastudy of 12 digital single-session interventions for depression in US adults.Nature human behaviour · 2026Trial
- Exploring Perceived Changes to Mental Health When Restricting and Resuming Specific Adaptive Daily Actions: Longitudinal Qualitative Substudy Within a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Personalization Strategies for Increasing Engagement With Digital Mental Health Resources: Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial.JMIR mental health · 2025Trial
- Incorporating a Stepped Care Approach Into Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- App-Based Mindfulness for Attenuation of Subjective and Physiological Stress Reactivity in a Population With Elevated Stress: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Trial
- Lessons learned from lockdown: how the COVID-19 pandemic revealed intersecting inequalities of mental health, well-being, and learning for first-year UK university students.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Inaccessible mental health care is a risk factor for risky drinking behaviors among cancer survivors: an All of Us survey-based cohort study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- The headband that held in the brain: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026Article
- The Impact of Federally Funded Home Visiting Programs on Parental Mental Health: a Systematic Review.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Review
- Unmet Pet Caregiving Needs are Associated with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Among People Living with HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Facilitators and barriers to Latino/a adolescents' help-seeking behaviors: Discussing mental health needs with parents and engaging in mental health services.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2026Article
- Mental Health Therapy Utilization Among Transgender Medicare Beneficiaries, From 2011 to 2019.Medical care research and review : MCRR · 2026Article
- Psychiatric comorbidities cluster early after onset in MOGAD: a cross-sectional comparative study with MS and NMOSD.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2026Article
- Frequency and Timing of Depression and Anxiety Diagnoses Following Cancer Diagnosis: A Multi-Center Cohort Study.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring Prolonged Grief Experiences of Ethnoracial Minoritized Caregivers: An Emic Perspective.Research in nursing & health · 2026Article
- When to Halt Implementation: Barriers in a Lay Counselor Narrative Exposure Therapy Training Program.Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- Distress screening and management for adolescents and young adults: 2022 NCI community oncology program landscape assessment.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHaving sufficient healthcare access helps individuals proactively manage their health challenges, leading to positive long-term health outcomes. In the U.S., healthcare access is a public health issue as many Americans lack the physical or financial resources to receive the healthcare services they need. Mental healthcare is especially difficult due to lingering social stigmas and scarcity of services. Subsequently, those with mental health impairment tend to be complex patients, which may convolute delivery of services.
objectiveTo quantify the prevalence of barriers to healthcare access among U.S. adults with and without mental health challenges (MHC) and evaluate the relationship between MHC and no usual source of care (NUSC).
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with data from the 2017-2018 National Health Interview Survey. MHC was categorized into three levels: no (NPD), moderate (MPD) and severe (SPD) psychological distress. Eight barriers were quantified; one was used as the primary outcome: NUSC. Multivariable logistic regression was used to quantify associations between these characteristics.
resultsThe sample included 50,103 adults. Most reported at least one barrier to healthcare access (95.6%) while 13.3% reported NUSC. For each barrier, rates were highest among those with SPD and lowest for those with NPD. However, in the multivariable model, SPD and MPD were not associated with NUSC (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.83-1.01; 0.88; 0.73-1.07). Male sex (1.92; 1.78-2.06), Hispanic race/ethnicity (1.59; 1.42-1.77), and worry to afford emergent (1.38; 1.26-150) or normal (1.60; 1.46-1.76) healthcare were associated with NUSC. Having a current partner (0.88; 0.80-0.96), dependent(s) (0.77; 0.70-0.85) and paid sick leave (0.60; 0.56-0.65) were protective.
conclusionsThe most prevalent barriers to healthcare access link to issues with affordability, and MHC exist more often when any barrier is reported. More work is needed to understand the acuity of burden as other social and environmental factors may hold effect.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.