ArticleFrontiers in public health2024
Barriers to mental health service utilisation among medical students in Saudi Arabia.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Family Honor, Gender Norms, and Help-Seeking Shape Mental Health Stigma in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Psychological distress, help-seeking behavior, and barriers to mental health care among Yemeni undergraduate students: a cross-sectional multi-university study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Among Health-Related and Non-Health-Related Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Satisfaction with telepsychiatry and mental health stigma among health sciences students in Egyptian universities.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- It's okay to not be okay.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine · 2026Article
- Perceived Social Support, Study-Related Stress, and Depressive Symptoms in Saudi Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Attitudes, Help-Seeking Barriers, and Predictors of Intention to Use Telemental Health Services Among University Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Help-Seeking Intentions and Preferred Sources for Mental Health Problems Among University Students in Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- "This shall pass too"-What stops medical students in central India from seeking mental health care?Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Mental health burden and service barriers among medical and health sciences students: prevalence and determinants from a cross-sectional analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Behavioral intention to use mental health chatbots in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional UTAUT-based study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Physical activity and depressive symptoms among college students: positive mental health as a mediator.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- Association between attitude toward seeking professional psychological help and mental health service need in college students: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Facilitators, Barriers, and Cultural Appropriateness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions Among Saudi Female University Students: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- War exposure and mental health in Sudanese medical students: the roles of psychological flexibility and self-esteem.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Barriers to Treatment of Mental Disorders in Saudi Arabia.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2025Article
- Psychological impact and coping mechanisms among sudanese medical students: a study on anxiety, depression, behavioral, and cognitive changes post COVID-19 lockdown and ongoing conflict.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- Stigma and Help-Seeking Attitudes in Relation to Psychological Distress Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Medical students experience high levels of stress, often due to academic demands, which can adversely affect their mental health. However, they frequently hesitate to seek and underutilise available mental health services. This study aimed to assess the perceived need for mental health services and identify the barriers to seeking help among undergraduate medical students. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 480 undergraduate medical students from two main universities in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through an online, self-administered questionnaire that encompassed sections on sociodemographic details, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), perceptions about the necessity for professional mental health care, service utilisation over the past year, and the Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation (BACE-III). Results: The study found that 33.6% of the participants showed signs of depression. Even though 42.5% expressed a perceived need for mental health services, only 16.2% actually utilised these services in the previous 12 months. In terms of barriers, attitudinal-related barriers received the highest mean score, followed by stigma- and instrumental-related barriers. Notably, students who had previously experienced academic failure and those who had sought mental health services were more inclined to report stigma- and instrumental-related barriers. Conclusion: Mental health challenges are notably prevalent among undergraduate medical students. Although there is a significant perceived need for professional mental health intervention, the actual utilisation rate remains low. The primary obstacles to seeking assistance are attitudinal and stigma-related barriers.
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