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The Barriers to Seeking Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in an Australian Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2014

Melissa Gentle ,
Lynne M. Harris  and
Mairwen K. Jones
Melissa Gentle
Affiliation:
Australian College of Applied Psychology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Lynne M. Harris*
Affiliation:
Australian College of Applied Psychology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Mairwen K. Jones
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Professor Lynne Harris, Australian College of Applied Psychology, Level 6, 11 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia. E-mail: Lynne.Harris@acap.edu.au
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Abstract

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) experience a significant deterioration in quality of life (Fontenelle et al., 2010; Kugler et al., 2013) and marked functional impairment (Markarian et al., 2010). Despite this, a large proportion of these individuals do not seek any type of help (Goodwin, Koenen, Hellman, Guardino, & Struening, 2002; Mayerovitch et al., 2003). The current study investigated the barriers to seeking OCD treatment using an online survey that was completed by 86 participants living in Australia who identified as having OCD. Results showed that the three main barriers to seeking OCD treatment were: (a) preference for handling problems alone; (b) cost of treatment; and (c) lack of knowledge about available mental health treatment. Individuals who reported receiving an OCD diagnosis (n = 57) demonstrated more severe symptoms, poorer quality of life and higher symptom intrusiveness than those who had not received a diagnosis (n = 29). Furthermore, significant associations were found between religious affiliation and barriers to treatment where greater religious attendance was correlated with a higher likelihood of identifying cultural factors as a barrier to OCD treatment. Additionally, higher levels of religious attendance were associated with a greater understanding of where to go for OCD treatment, not wanting to handle problems alone, and recognising that symptoms are a problem. This article considers approaches to overcoming barriers to accessing effective evidence-based treatment for people with OCD symptoms, and highlights future directions for research.

Keywords

obsessive-compulsive disorderbarriers to treatmentonline surveyAustralian healthcare
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 258 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014 

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