The Relationship Between Depression Diagnosis and Discrimination in the Healthcare Setting, Moderated by Access to Mental Health Resources

Discrimination is a significant social issue that can negatively affect people's lives and health, including by impacting mental health. Additionally, despite some strides, discrimination surrounding mental illness is still very prevalent. Consequently, understanding the relationship between discrimination and mental illness, including depression, is of great importance. Previous research has suggested a positive association between discrimination and depression. However, there has not been much research looking at this association with specifically discrimination in the healthcare setting, nor considering the factor of access to mental health resources, which were the goals of this study. Using data from a 2018 survey, a logistic model found depression and age to be significant predictors of healthcare discrimination. Other demographic factors (gender, race, ethnicity, insurance status, and education) were not found to be significant to the model. Results also provide preliminary evidence that depression and mental health care resource availability interact to affect discrimination, with a significant effect seen for those with depression and no mental healthcare practitioners in their geographic area. Findings from this study add to the existing literature on the relationship between discrimination and depression and provide preliminary evidence of an interesting moderating role that geographic access to mental healthcare could play in this relationship.