Disability and health service utilization associated with psychological distress: the influence of ethnicity.
This study examined levels of disability and use of health services, as a result of psychological distress, across various ethnic groups after taking into account selected sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, education, and employment. We have analyzed data from the 1997-1998 New South Wales Health Survey, Australia. A telephone interview of 35,025 adults aged 16 years and over selected from each of the 17 Health Service Areas in the state. While people from non-English speaking backgrounds were more likely to suffer high levels of disability as a result of psychological distress, they were less likely to utilize health services compared to those from English speaking backgrounds. This was particularly true for those born in Southern and South-East Asia as well as the Middle East and Africa. Further research into the reasons underlying these findings for each ethnic group is warranted.
Boufous
Soufiane
S
Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. soufiane@unsw.edu.au
Silove
Derrick
D
Bauman
Adrian
A
Steel
Zachary
Z
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology