CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One in five West Virginia adults have rated their mental health as “fair” or “poor”, according to a new survey conducted by the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
Results from first Mountain State Assessment of Trends in Community Health (MATCH) survey showed adults 18 to 34 had the highest need to see a mental health care provider and highest share that did not see a provider because of expense.
“A little over 20 percent of our residents need mental health services,” Christina Mullins, deputy secretary for mental health and substance use disorders at DHHR, told MetroNews.
The survey was conducted in partnership with the West Virginia University Health Affairs Institute. Data was collected from Aug. 2021 to Feb. 2022. At least 88,000 surveys were mailed to randomly selected households in West Virginia and about 16,000 responded online, by mail or phone.
The highest proportion of adults with poor mental health and highest ratios of people to mental health providers live in the southwest part of the state, according to the survey.
Black respondents made up the highest share of people who did not see a mental health care provider citing discomfort talking to a mental health provider.
Mullins said one of the big reasons for declining mental health comes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s critically important right now coming out of the pandemic and knowing that our population really has experienced a lot more anxiety and depression our overdose rates increasing,” she said.
There is some progress in the numbers though, Mullins said.
“Adults who did need mental health care, over half of them did receive it. That shows we’re doing a pretty decent job of getting services to people, but we have room to improve,” she said.
Mullins said the purpose of the survey was to gain a better understanding of an issue that isn’t researched enough.
“The data is not as robust in some of these areas as it is for heart disease, diabetes, some of the things that we tend to know more about like how many people are smoking,” she said.
The information will be used to determine what the needs are in West Virginia and to help guide what work needs to be done in the future.
The first MATCH survey also focused on physical health, health behavior, prescription opioids, the impact of COVID-19 and other topics.
To view the survey results, CLICK HERE.
The survey is conducted every two years, with the second survey period occurring from Aug. 2023 to Feb. 2024.