Psychiatric Care Uptake

Axial spondyloarthritis patients who declined counselling had worse outcomes than those without mental disorders. Most patients with confirmed mental disorders declined offered psychiatric counselling. Seventy-five percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients and 89.6% of axial spondyloarthritis patients with confirmed mental disorders declined counselling. Stigma, limited knowledge, symptom attribution difficulty, costs, and medication concerns are described as barriers to psychiatric care uptake. The study recommends destigmatisation, better communication between rheumatology and mental health services, and patient education to improve care uptake.