Help-seeking for depression among Australian doctors

N S Aishah Muhamad Ramzi; Mark Deady; Katherine Petrie; Joanna Crawford; Samuel B Harvey

doi:10.1111/imj.15035

Help-seeking for depression among Australian doctors

Intern Med J. 2021 Dec;51(12):2069-2077. doi: 10.1111/imj.15035.

Authors

N S Aishah Muhamad Ramzi¹, Mark Deady², Katherine Petrie^{1

2}, Joanna Crawford², Samuel B Harvey²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Department of Medicine, Black Dog Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 32833296
DOI: 10.1111/imj.15035

Abstract

Background: Depression is common among doctors. However, concerns remain that doctors are unlikely to ask for help when symptoms of depression arise.

Aims: To determine rates and patterns of help-seeking for depression among doctors and to identify predictors of and barriers to such behaviour.

Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on a nation-wide survey of 12 252 Australian doctors. The study sample consisted of doctors who reported having ever felt seriously depressed (n = 4154; 33.9% of total sample). Rates of help-seeking, professional help-seeking behaviours and self-reported barriers were explored. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between professional help-seeking and predetermined predictive factors.

Results: Sixty percent (95% confidence interval (CI): 58.5-61.5) of doctors who have ever felt seriously depressed reported some form of professional help-seeking for depression. The most common barrier to help-seeking was 'privacy/confidentiality'. Females (odds ratio (OR) = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.50-2.01; P < 0.001), locally trained doctors (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.12-1.59; P = 0.001) and senior doctors (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.14-1.61; P = 0.001) were more likely to seek professional help than their counterparts. Compared with general practitioners, psychiatrists (OR = 1.565; 95% CI: 1.15-2.13; P = 0.004) were more likely to seek professional help while surgeons (OR = 0.518; 95% CI: 0.37-0.72; P < 0.001) and pathologists/radiologists (OR = 0.695; 95% CI: 0.49-0.99; P = 0.043) were less likely.

Conclusion: While it is reassuring that the majority of depressed doctors were able to seek professional help, many were not. Major barriers to professional help-seeking, particularly concerns about confidentiality and impact on career, remain a problem. Male, overseas-trained, junior doctors, surgeons and pathologists/radiologists were less likely to seek help for depression. Targeted interventions are required to increase appropriate help-seeking for depression in doctors.

Keywords: barrier; depression; doctor; help-seeking; mental illness; predictor.

MeSH terms

Australia / epidemiology
Depression* / diagnosis
Depression* / epidemiology
Depression* / therapy
Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Physicians*

Grants and funding

MD and SBH are supported by grants from the icare Foundation and NSW Health. SBH is also supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant. KP is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Scholarship and by funding from NSW Health.