ArticleCureus2025
Demographic Predictors of Outpatient Mental Health Service Utilization in the United States.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Mental health disorders represent a growing public health concern in the United States, yet disparities in outpatient service utilization persist across demographic groups. Understanding these disparities is essential for targeted intervention and equitable resource allocation. This study aimed to identify independent demographic predictors of outpatient mental health service utilization using nationally representative data. Methodology We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, aggregating outpatient visits from 2005 to 2011. Adults aged 18 and older were included. Mental health-related visits were identified using the International Classification of Diseases diagnostic codes and reason-for-visit criteria. Multivariate survey-weighted logistic regression was used to examine associations between service utilization and demographic variables, i.e., age, sex, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. Results Of the 134,500 adult outpatient visits analyzed, 1,469 visits (9.2% of 15,388 weighted visits) were classified as mental health-related. Adjusted analyses showed that Hispanic individuals (odds ratio (OR) = 0.056, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.012-0.260) and those of Other race/ethnicity (OR = 0.062, 95% CI = 0.001-0.484) had significantly lower odds of receiving mental health services compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Sex, age, and insurance type were not statistically significant predictors. Conclusions Racial and ethnic disparities remain a key barrier to equitable outpatient mental health care in the United States. Culturally tailored interventions are needed to improve access and utilization among underserved populations.
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