Summary of Columbia Study Links Mental Health Access to Lower Suicide Rates:
A study from Incite at Columbia University has found a link between increased access to mental health care and decreased suicide risk, suggesting that interventions to improve mental health care access could prevent unnecessary deaths. The researchers used new methods to measure access by precisely locating all psychiatrists and therapists in the US and calculating residents’ access to care by considering factors like demand, competition, and transportation options. The study found that areas with better access to psychiatrists had lower suicide rates and highlighted disparities in care access, with those most at risk often struggling to find help.
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New Study Shows Link Between Improved Mental Health Care Access and Lower Suicide Rates
A new study from Incite @ Columbia University suggests that improving access to mental health care could significantly lower suicide rates. The study “Differential Spatial-Social Accessibility to Mental Health Care and Suicide” created a detailed map of therapists and psychiatrists across the United States, calculating care accessibility based on demand, competition, and transportation. These access scores correlated with suicide rates, revealing a strong link between increased access and decreased suicide risk.
Disparities in Mental Health Care Access
The study also highlights disparities in care access, with those most at risk often struggling to find help. The research illuminates misalignments between healthcare distribution and needs in the United States. In areas with better access to psychiatrists, suicide rates are lower, as shown in the study’s mapping of county-level suicide rates and county-level psychiatrist accessibility. This data exposes the high level of inequality in access to care. The same people whose social circumstances put them at greater risk for suicide have a much harder time finding available psychiatrists and therapists who could help them.
Precisely Locating All Mental Health Providers
Daniel Tadmon and Peter S. Bearman developed new methods of measuring access with greater granularity than possible to enable this research. They precisely located all psychiatrists and therapists in the United States, creating a comprehensive, accurate provider mapping for the first time. For each census tract, roughly equivalent to a neighborhood in size, they calculated residents’ access to care by incorporating service demand, competition, and transportation options. They compared this score to the average suicide rate at the county level. Higher scores, which indicated shorter travel times to more providers less saturated by demand, were strongly associated with reduced suicide risk. This effect persisted when controlling for other critical factors related to suicide, including race, divorce, and gun shop prevalence.
Suicide Rates and Mental Health Care Provider Shortages
Amid historically high suicide rates and mental healthcare provider shortages, this research suggests that interventions to alleviate healthcare access disparities can prevent unnecessary death and suffering. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates have increased in the United States since 1999, with a 33% increase between 1999 and 2017.
Reducing Suicide Risk Through Increased Access to Mental Health Care
The study’s findings suggest reducing suicide risk through increased access to mental health care should be a public health priority. Access to mental health care should be seen as a fundamental aspect of suicide prevention and promoting mental health and well-being. The study underscores the importance of addressing disparities in access to care to reduce suicide rates in the United States.
Reference:
“Differential Spatial-Social Accessibility to Mental Health Care and Suicide” pending, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301304120
Incite @ Columbia University is a leading interdisciplinary social science research institute at Columbia University. Its mission is to create knowledge for public action and to catalyze conversations that lead to more just, equitable, and democratic societies.
