PHOENIX, May 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In solidarity with Mental Health Awareness Month, Solera Health, the premier technology platform for connecting people seamlessly and easily to health solutions that work, today released “Navigating Mental Health After the Pandemic.” Available now, the report underscores the high need for easier access to personalized mental health support and reinforces the need for healthcare stakeholders to better identify and support individuals struggling with mental health challenges.
Key Findings from the Report:
- The burden of mental health symptoms remains extremely high (41.7%) even as the pandemic public health emergency comes to an end. A meaningful portion of Americans (13%) report being bothered by their mental health despite relative low levels of symptoms that do not meet typical screening thresholds.
- Financial strain is the most commonly reported factor (48%) causing stress, anxiety, and depression. Those with incomes between $25k and $35k annually were 61% more likely to screen positive for depression than those with incomes above $150k. As financial markets experience ongoing turbulence, mental health symptoms will likely remain high.
- Many individuals are open to options beyond formal therapy and medications to meet their mental health needs, but prefer a bit of structure to help them along. In fact, 77% said they would consider a self-guided program over a coached program, and 44% preferred it outright. This is in stark contrast to traditional recommendations of therapy and medication to manage mental health symptoms and conditions.
These findings emphasize the urgent need for a hyper-personalized approach to mental health treatment to ensure timely and efficient interventions with proven clinical efficacy. Data indicates that while many individuals are identified as in need of care via traditional assessment mechanisms, there is significant variability in the acuity of those symptoms—allowing many individuals’ experiences to fall through the cracks. There is an opportunity for digital tools and personalization to address the gap formed as those with less pervasive symptoms.
“When it comes to mental health, we know that one size doesn’t fit all,” said Dr. Byron Crowe, Chief Medical Officer at Solera Health. “Personalized assessments—matching patients to best-fit digital solutions—enables a new, earlier access point to care for many individuals. To truly address the mental health crisis in a post-pandemic America, our industry must address patient needs with creativity, technology and compassion through better access to the full range of evidence-based supports, not just in-person therapy or medications.”
”Our system simply is not keeping pace with the rising mental health needs in this country,” said Mary Langowski, CEO of Solera Health. “We must modernize and promote new models that enable affordable access to a range of mental health solutions at scale.”
Methodology and availability
Solera Health conducted a study of 3,011 Americans over the course of 13 weeks between August 31 and November 20, 2022. This quantitative survey was fielded daily, with a weekly sample size of 230 Census-balanced adults over 18 years of age.
A wide range of questions explored physical health, mental health, treatments and preferences, stigma, lifestyle, attitudes, beliefs and behavior. Two critical mental health screeners—the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) scale—were included to obtain information on the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms.
“Navigating Mental Health After the Pandemic” is available now. Download it here.
About Solera Health
Solera is changing lives by guiding people to better health solutions that work. Solera’s value-based technology platform enables successful interventions that address the most prevalent and costly chronic conditions. Solera matches consumers to their best-fit solution within carefully curated networks of digital and community-based point solutions, and drives superior engagement and outcomes by managing performance. Solera’s technology platform serves payers and employers by streamlining, integrating, and creating accountability in the point solution ecosystem. For more information, visit www.soleranetwork.com.
Contact:
BOCA Communications for Solera
solera@bocacommunications.com
