Twelve‐month use of mental health services in four areas in Japan: Findings from the World Mental Health Japan Survey 2002–2003

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to provide basic descriptive data regarding utilization of 12-month mental health services in the Japanese community population. Face-to-face household surveys were carried out in four areas (two urban cities and two rural municipalities), and a total of 1663 persons participated (overall response rate: 56.4%). For data collection, the structured psychiatric interview, World Mental Health version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was used, allowing DSM-IV diagnoses, severity, and service utilization. It was found that 7.3% of total respondents had received any service, either professional or non-professional, in the past 12 months, including 20.0% of those with 12-month DSM-IV disorders and 6.2% of those without. Thirty-three percent of those with any mood disorder used any service, and 26.8% of those used some type of health care. The probability of people with 13-15 years of education receiving mental health treatment was fourfold higher than those with ≥16 years of education. Gender, age, or income were not found to contribute to utilization of mental health services. The results confirm that the majority of people with a recent psychiatric disorder have not used mental health care or other support systems. The mental health care system in Japan has improved over the past decade, but not enough for people suffering from mental disturbances.

Job stressors and long-term sick leave due to depressive disorders among Japanese male employees: findings from the Japan Work Stress and Health Cohort study

“…The present findings may be largely influenced by help-seeking behaviours due to depressive disorders, which were underdiagnosed in many countries. In Japan, the 12-month medical treatment rate for depressive disorders was reported as only 27%, which was much lower than those in the US and some European countries,49 possibly because of a greater stigma towards depressive disorders in Japan 50. A substantial proportion of workers who had depressive disorders may have not gone on long-term sick leave, or even when they went on sickness absence, their sickness absence may not have been diagnosed as depressive disorders.…”

Multiple barriers against successful care provision for depressed patients in general internal medicine in a Japanese rural hospital: a cross-sectional study

“…In rural areas, most patients consult a general internist who plays a role similar to that of a primary care physician in the UK. It has been reported that depressed patients in Japanese communities tend to consult not only mental health specialists, but also other specialists such as a general internists because of their somatization in addition to the stigmatization of psychiatric disorders and services [6,7]. The importance of primary care provided by general internists in the management of depressed patients has been stated recently in the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Initiative published by the Japanese Government.…”

Prevalence of and risk factors for suicide‐related outcomes in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys Japan

“…[4][5][6][7] Informed consent was obtained before beginning the interviews. The Human Subjects Committees of Okayama University (for the Okayama site), Japan NIMH (for the Kagoshima site), and Nagasaki University (for the Nagasaki site) approved the recruitment, consent, and field procedures.…”