Psychological Distress in a National Survey Population

Objectives. We estimated the prevalence of Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) among adults in a national survey sample. We examined the association between selected risk factors and the occurrence of SPD. We also evaluated the magnitude of the association between individuals' SPD condition and their health perception as well as their health care seeking behavior. Methods. Cross-sectional study using Random Digit Dial telephone survey data from the National Cancer Institute's 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Respondents with SPD were identified by previously validated six-item screening tool. Results. Overall prevalence of SPD was 4.5% (167 of 3,721 respondents). After accounting for socio-demographic factors in multivariate logistical regression analyses, SPD respondents had poorer self-reported health (Odds Ratio (OR) =4.44; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 3.00; 6.58). However, they were more likely to avoid visiting doctors for health reasons even when suspecting they should (OR=1.96; 95% CI (1.36; 2.83), less trusting of their physicians (OR=2.30; 95%=1.40;3.78), more likely to believe that they did not receive sufficient attention (OR=2.19; 95%CI=1.48,3.24), and more likely to rate overall quality of healthcare as low (OR=2.02; 95% CI (1.19; 3.43). As expected, SPD respondents were more likely to have had five or more health care visits in the previous 12 months (OR=2.36; 95% CI=1.64; 3.42). Conclusion. Data are consistent with the hypothesis that patient dissatisfaction may be associated with the need for more frequent use of health care services by person having SPD. Likewise, our findings point to a need for more effective SPD management strategies.