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Ethnic inequalities in the use of secondary and tertiary mentalhealth services among patients with obsessive–compulsivedisorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Lorena Fernández de la Cruz*
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Marta Llorens
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Amita Jassi
Affiliation:
National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Georgina Krebs
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London and National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Pablo Vidal-Ribas
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, UK
Joaquim Radua
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, UK, Fundació per a la Investigació i la Docència Maria Angustias Giménez Research Unit, Germanes Hospitalàries, Barcelona and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Barcelona, Spain
Stephani L. Hatch
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, UK
Dinesh Bhugra
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, UK, National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
Isobel Heyman
Affiliation:
National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Bruce Clark
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, London, National and Specialist OCD Clinic for Young People, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Lorena Fernández de la Cruz, Department of ClinicalNeuroscience, Karolinska Institutet; Child and Adolescent Research Center,Gävlegatan, 22 (Entré B), Floor 8, SE-11330, Stockholm, Sweden. Email: lorena.fernandez.de.la.cruz@ki.se
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Abstract

Background

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has similar prevalence rates across ethnic groups. However, ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical trials of OCD. It is unclear whether this is also the case in clinical services.

Aims

To explore whether ethnic minorities with OCD are underrepresented in secondary and tertiary mental health services in the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust.

Method

The ethnic distribution of patients with OCD seen between 1999 and 2013 in SLaM (n = 1528) was compared with that of the general population in the catchment area using census data. A cohort of patients with depression (n = 22 716) was used for comparative purposes.

Results

Ethnic minorities with OCD were severely underrepresented across services (–57%, 95% CI –62% to –52%). The magnitude of the observed inequalities was significantly more pronounced than in depression (–29%, 95% CI–31% to–27%).

Conclusions

There is a clear need to understand the reasons behind such ethnic inequalities and implement measures to reduce them.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2015 
Figure 0

Fig. 1 Selection of participants with obsessive–compulsive disorder and depression.Individuals with the ethnic group missing or not stated, as well as those out of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust catchment area were excluded. CRIS, Clinical Record Interactive Search.

Figure 1

TABLE 1 Ethnic distribution of the population of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust catchment area (Censuses 2001 and 2011) and obsessive–compulsive disorder and depression service users during the 14-year time frame: 1999–2013a

Figure 2

Fig. 2 Ethnic distribution of the population of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust catchment area (Censuses 2001 and 2011) and obsessive–compulsive disorder and depression service users during the 14-year time frame: 1999–2013.Percentages do not always add to 100.0% because of rounding.

Figure 3

TABLE 2 New service users per 100 000 inhabitants year in the different services for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression in the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust and per cent difference of the Black and minority ethnic group in relation to the reference (White) ethnic group

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