Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services among the Elderly in the Rural of Vietnam: A Cross Sectional Survey in 2019

Abstract

While the burden of neurological and mental disorders has been drastically increased in Vietnam, the current mental healthcare services do not meet the public demand. In order to determine perceived barriers to the use of mental health services, we conducted a cross-sectional study on 376 elderly people from a rural district in Hanoi, Vietnam. We found that depression may be an important indicator of the need for formal and informal community and home care mental health services. Barriers to mental healthcare access were categorized into 7 groups namely stigma, emotional concerns, participation restrictions, service satisfaction, time constraints, geographic and financial conditions, and availability of services. The most significant barriers are the limited availability of and accessibility to health professionals and services in rural areas. Our study highlights the urgent efforts that need to be made in order to enhance availability of mental healthcare services in rural areas of Vietnam.

Enablers and Barriers of Accessing Health Care Services among Older Adults in South-East Asia: A Scoping Review

“…The issue of availability was discussed in two studies [ 20 , 36 ]. The studies indicated that availability of healthcare services in rural areas is still a significant issue.…”

“…The studies indicated that availability of healthcare services in rural areas is still a significant issue. The disparity in the availability of mental health services in the rural areas of Vietnam was reported as a barrier [ 36 ]. The availability issue was further discussed in terms of the limited number of health care professionals in rural areas.…”

“…Accessibility issues were reported in more than half the studies (58%) included in this review [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 25 , 26 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 38 ] The review determined that the accessibility issues faced by older adults in SEA countries primarily concerned geographic, financial and social/family support factors. In a Thai population, urban dwellers were more likely than dwellers in rural areas to use health care services [ 25 ].…”

“…The issue of affordability appeared in eight of the included studies [ 21 , 22 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Older adults whose incomes are below national poverty levels are more likely to have unmet healthcare needs, compared to those whose incomes are above national poverty levels [ 29 ].…”

“…A few studies reported the positive effects on older people’s psychological and well-being when they are cared for by their children [ 46 ]. However, as the older people would be taking care of their grandchildren in exchange, they may be hindered from going for health checks [ 36 ].…”