Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39917358›Full record

ArticleHealth services insights2025

Exploring Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Quantitative Study.

Gabriela Castañeda-Millán, Alexia M Haritos, Edris Formuli, Maryna Mazur, Kishana Balakrishnar, Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long, Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health services insights, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Gabriela Castañeda-MillánDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4704-3707
Alexia M HaritosDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Edris FormuliDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Maryna MazurDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Kishana BalakrishnarDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Bao-Zhu Stephanie LongDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Behdin Nowrouzi-KiaDepartment of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, ReSTORE Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5586-4282

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Indexed as

barriersCanadahealthcare workershelp-seeking behaviorMental healthmental health servicespredictorssociodemographic factors

Identifiers

PMID39917358
PMCPMC11800249

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.