Mental Healthcare Access and the Treatment Gap in Indonesia

Muhammad Fikru Rizal (), David Johnston, Nicole Black () and Rohan Sweeney ()
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Muhammad Fikru Rizal: Health Economics Group, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Nicole Black: Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University
Rohan Sweeney: Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University

No 2024-16, Working Papers from Centre for Health Economics, Monash University

Abstract: In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a high proportion of people with mental health needs do not receive treatment, contributing to a significant “treatment gap”. Despite this, there is limited robust evidence on the socioeconomic factors that shape mental healthcare use in these settings. Using data from over 400,000 adults in Indonesia, this study examines how wealth, education, and health insurance coverage influence the likelihood of accessing mental healthcare among those with probable depression. Indonesia is an important context for this analysis because undertreatment and stigma are particularly severe. We find that only 9.3% of those identified as having probable depression receive treatment. Wealth and health insurance are positively associated with the probability of mental healthcare utilisation, while education is not. The wealth gradient diminishes at the highest income levels, and we show this is possibly due to increased stigma. These findings underscore the importance of reducing financial barriers, such as through public health insurance expansion, and reducing stigma to address the mental health treatment gap in LMICs.

Keywords: mental health; treatment gap; depression; mental healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 I10 I14 I15 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-hea and nep-sea
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