The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care Services
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | AEA Papers and Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pandp.20231058 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20231058 |
| Keywords | field experiments; health behavior; health: government policy - regulation - public health |
| Attached files | |
| Description | The COVID-19 pandemic increased the rate of mental health disorders, as well as demand for mental health services. It remains unclear, however, the extent to which it impacted access to mental health care. Using data from an audit field experiment, which ran from January to May 2020 and overlapped with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health care appointments in the United States. We find that increased intensity of COVID-19—measured by daily cases, daily fatalities, and weekly excess deaths—is associated with decreased access to mental health care appointments. |
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