Unmet Mental Health Needs Among California Workers Since the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Kathryn Gibb1, David P Bui, Jonah Cox
1From the Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond California (K.G., D.P.B., X.P.V.); Heluna Health, City of Industry, California (D.P.B., X.P.V.); and Injury and Violence Prevention Branch, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California (J.C., N.W.).
Objective:
We sought to identify worker groups with high prevalence of unmet mental health needs to inform employer benefits programs and outreach to increase access to care.
Methods:
We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study to understand unmet mental health needs among workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic using the California Health Interview Survey data from 2013 to 2021.
Results:
In 2021, 23.4% (confidence interval: 22.4 to 24.4) reported unmet mental health needs, an absolute increase of 3.9% from 2019. Relative increases were highest among workers in the information industries (prevalence ratio: 1.89, confidence interval: 1.4 to 2.5) and older workers (prevalence ratio: 1.27, CI: 0.9 to 1.8). Increases in needing help were not met with comparable increases in seeking care.
Conclusions:
Unmet mental health needs increased for California workers during the pandemic. Employers should dedicate resources and implement strategies to increase access to care and promote worker well-being.
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