Unveiling the mental health services gap: help-seeking and referral patterns in South Kashmir, India

Abstract Background Mental disorders, particularly anxiety and depression, affect a significant portion of the global population, with 1 in 8 people, or approximately 970 million individuals, experiencing such conditions. Despite this burden, mental health service gaps are huge, especially in low-resource settings like India. Objective To explore the first help-seeking behaviour and referral patterns for individuals experiencing psychiatric morbidity in South Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir. Methods A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic characteristics, clinical features, and the help-seeking behaviour of 903 individuals with lifetime psychiatric morbidity. The psychiatric diagnosis was made by using structured interview scale (MINI — Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview). Results The findings revealed that a significant portion of individuals (29.79%) never sought professional help, with faith healers (33%) and general physicians (27.35%) being the most common sources of initial support. Only a small percentage visited psychiatrists, either in hospitals (3.54%) or private clinics (6.32%). Among mental health services, patients preferred to see psychiatrists in private clinic, with males having more such preference. Furthermore, only 11.97% of individuals were referred for further psychiatric care, with faith healers being more likely to make referrals than physicians. The highest number of referrals from general physicians was for psychotic disorders, suicide, and substance use disorders. Conclusion This study highlights significant gaps in the identification and treatment-seeking behaviour for mental health issues in the population of South Kashmir. The importance of addressing barriers to mental health care access, including sociocultural beliefs and a lack of awareness, is highlighted. Healthcare planners should emphasize the need for improved mental health infrastructure and referral systems in underserved regions like ours.