Vertaalt de sterke sociale gradiënt van de ggz zich in een uniform sterke samenhang tussen ggz en sociale zorg?

BACKGROUND: In the Netherlands, mental health care consumption is characterized by a strong social gradient, in contrast to specialist medical care.
AIM: A more detailed analysis of this social gradient in relation to type of care, diagnosis and cost parameters.
METHOD: Analysis of national costs data and socio-economic data at 4-digit postal code level.
RESULTS: Mental health care had a strong socio-economic gradient, with a 25% to 350% difference in both healthcare consumption and treated prevalence between the least and most deprived areas. Increasing area socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an increase in complex care compared to non-complex care, in inpatient treatment compared to outpatient treatment, and treatment of severe mental disorder compared to less severe problems. The social gradient was not predictive of municipal variation in the degree of - on average weak - association between mental health care and social care.
CONCLUSION: Mental problems and social problems are intrinsically connected, but the association between mental healthcare and social care is limited and very heterogeneous.
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