The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care Services
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 420-22)
Abstract
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.Citation
Harrell, Benjamin, Luca Fumarco, Patrick Button, David J. Schwegman, and Kyla Denwood. 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care Services." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 420-22. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231058Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C93 Field Experiments
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health