Mental health service use among individuals with traumatic brain injury: Exploring the role of social support, employment, and insurance.

INTRODUCTION

This study assessed 1) differences in mental health service use among those with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI), 2) whether social supports, employment, and insurance moderated the TBI-mental health service use relationship, and 3) racial and ethnic differences in these associations.

METHODS

In an analytic sample of 1018 participants, we used propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting to assess differences in both lifetime and past 12-month mental health service use among those with and without TBI. We used a logistic regression model for the moderation analyses.

RESULTS

Those with TBI reported greater depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms than those without TBI, as well as higher probability of both lifetime and past 12-month mental health service use. After adjusting for the propensity score, those with TBI were about 10.5 % more likely to use mental health services compared to those without TBI. Higher levels of social support were associated with a three-fold increase in the odds of using mental health services in individuals with TBI. Employment and insurance did not significantly moderate the TBI-mental health service use relationship, but insurance was independently associated with grater odds of both lifetime and past 12-month mental health service use.

CONCLUSION

Greater psychiatric symptoms in individuals with TBI, along with their increased use of mental health services, highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach to TBI care. Interventions could also target social relationships, as lower social support represents a potential pathway for differences in mental health service use for those with TBI.