The relationship between mood disorder diagnosis and experiencing an unmet health-care need in Canada: findings from the 2014 Canadian Community Health Survey

Abstract

Background

Despite Canada’s universal health-care system, millions of Canadians experience unmet health-care needs (UHCN). People with mood disorders may be at higher risk of UHCN due to barriers such as stigma and gaps in health-care services.

Aim

We aimed to examine the relationship between having a diagnosed mood disorder and experiencing UHCN using a recent, nationally representative survey.

Methods

Using the 2014 Canadian Community Health Survey, we used multivariate logistic regression to estimate the association between mood disorder and UHCN in the past 12 months, adjusting for sociodemographic variables and health status.

Results

Among 52,825 respondents, 11.8% reported UHCN. Respondents with a diagnosed mood disorder were more likely to report UHCN [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38, 1.89]. Among respondents with a regular doctor, people with mood disorders were still more likely to report UHCN (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.38, 1.93). Sensitivity analyses using propensity score and missing data imputation approaches resulted in similar estimates.

Conclusions

Adults diagnosed with a mood disorder are more likely to report UHCN in the past year, even those with a regular doctor. Our findings suggest that barriers beyond physician attachment may impact access to care for people with mood disorders.

Keywords:

• Mood disorders
• health services needs
• unmet need
• health equity
• Canadian Community Health Survey

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge comments and feedback on parts of earlier drafts from the SPPH 504/007 course participants (Winter 2018) at the University of British Columbia.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are publicly available from Statistics Canada http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&Id=164081.

Additional information

Funding

MEK holds research grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and BC SUPPORT Unit, and is supported by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award. Over the past two years MEK has received consulting fees from Biogen Inc.