Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the preferences of non-metropolitan youth towards mental health service access. SETTING: Tasmania, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Youth aged 13 to 25 years (n = 214). METHODS: Choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC) which is a quantitative study design, was employed. In this CBC study, an online survey presented twelve choice sets reflecting seven different mental health service attributes (mental health concern, service provider, cost, wait time, service delivery method, travel time and transport mode), with youth asked to choose their preferred option for access. Choice-based conjoint analysis determined preferred mental health service attributes and the relative weighting of different levels within each attribute. RESULTS: Of the seven attributes, service provider, cost, wait time and service delivery method were of the highest importance to youth when considering mental health service access. Within the listed health service attributes, youth ranked: psychologists; no cost; no wait time; face-to-face delivery; travel time of 15 min; and travel by private car highest. Various socio-demographic variables were associated with attribute and level choices. CONCLUSION: Tasmanian youth prefer to access mental health services when provided in person, by a psychologist, for free and with no waiting time. Further research is required to investigate whether mental healthcare preferences for non-metropolitan youth change depending on geographical location, mental health status, level of mental health literacy, a greater choice of service providers and service delivery methods.