Barriers to Treatment of Mental Disorders in Saudi Arabia

Mental disorders are a global health issue affecting millions of individuals. People with mental disorders often face barriers to treatment, including stigma and discrimination, social, religious, and familial barriers, and a lack of knowledge about available treatment options. These barriers can lead to delayed or untreated mental illnesses, with serious consequences for the individuals, their families, and communities. This cross-sectional study explores the treatment barriers for different mental disorders as they significantly impact people’s lives. It includes patients diagnosed with mental disorders. The data were collected from the patients or their companions attending Qassim Mental Health Hospital’s outpatient clinic. We used a self-administered online questionnaire, sociodemographic variables, and the barrier to access to care evaluation (BACE) scale. Our sample included 332 adult patients with mental disorders (men, 63.9%; women, 36.1%). The mean percentage scores for stigma-, attitude-, and instrument-related barriers were 26.7%, 33.0%, and 18.7%, respectively. Younger age was associated with higher scores in all three BACE domains. Patients with psychotic disorders faced stigma- and attitude-related barriers, but not instrument-related barriers. Patients with multiple mental conditions faced increased stigma- and instrument-related barriers but not attitude-related barriers. Further longitudinal studies are required to better understand these barriers to help patients with mental conditions.