Help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems in medical students: Studies in Thailand and India

Objectives: To compare the rate of help-seeking from mental health professionals (MHPs) and other sources of help for mental health problems of medical students in Thailand and India, and explore factors associated with help-seeking from MHPs. Methods: Cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in two medical schools in Thailand and India. Students were asked to rate their preferences for each source of help on a Likert-scale basis. Mental health status was measured by the General health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Attitudes and stigma toward mental illness were collected using the Mental illness clinician's attitude scale: medical student version or MICA v2. Results: 593 students participated in the survey. The percentage of students who chose to seek help from any source was lower in Thailand than in India. 81 % of students in India site chose to seek help from MHPs, compared to 66 % in Thailand site. The risk factors for avoiding seeking help from MHPs in Thailand were history of alcohol use (OR = 1.88, p = .014) and total GHQ score (OR = 1.11, p = .006), whereas having GHQ score >= 2 was a significant risk factor in India (OR = 2.20, p = .044). Total MICA score, which reflected overall attitude toward mental illness, was not associated with seeking help from MHPs. Conclusions: The rate of help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems and factors associated differed between medical students in Thailand and India. A high GHQ score was a common risk factor of not seeking help from MHPs in both countries.