Respondents facing obstacles seeking mental health and substance use treatment U.S. 2021

A survey conducted in the U.S. about the obstacles faced when seeking treatment for mental health and/or substance use as of 2021, showed that the majority of patients considered the cost of help and treatment a large obstacle. This graph shows the share of respondents who felt there were select obstacles when seeking mental health and/or substance use treatment in the United States as of 2021.

Percentage of U.S. adults who felt there were select obstacles when seeking help or treatment for a mental health and/or substance use condition as of 2021

Characteristic	A very large obstacle	A somewhat large obstacle	Don't know/No opinion	Not too large of an obstacle	Not an obstacle at all
Cost of help or treatment	26%	25%	15%	18%	16%
Availability of providers who are taking patients, regardless of insurance	18%	23%	20%	21%	18%
Availability of providers taking patients within my insurance network	16%	23%	20%	21%	21%
Stigma associated with seeking help or treatment	16%	20%	18%	20%	27%
Availability of providers with reasonable wait times	13%	21%	19%	27%	20%
Travel distance to treatment	12%	19%	16%	27%	26%
Technology requirements to meet with a provider virtually, such as having a computer, smart phone, or other device	11%	15%	15%	23%	35%
Knowledge on how to use the technology necessary for a telehealth/virtual appointment	9%	18%	15%	26%	32%
Availability of providers who understand my culture	9%	13%	19%	22%	37%
Availability of providers who speak my language	7%	10%	15%	17%	51%

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Release date

May 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

April 29 to May 2, 2021

Number of respondents

2,200 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Online interview

Supplementary notes

The interviewees were asked the following question: "In your opinion, how large of an obstacle, if at all, is each of the following to getting help, treatment or counseling for a mental health and/or substance use condition?"

The source provides the following information: "the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points."

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