Characteristics of delayed and timely treatment seekers for first-episode schizophrenia in Thailand

To reduce delays in accessing services and providing early treatment for patients with first-episode psychosis requires an understanding of the causes of treatment delay. We investigated it among patients with the first-episode schizophrenia (FES) across the country. 302 outpatients with a FES were recruited in one psychiatric hospital, six general hospitals, one community hospital, and one university hospital from June 2017 to August 2018. Those who have the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) 3 months or longer were considered as delayed treatment seekers. The relative influences of patients’ characteristics on the delay in treatment-seeking were estimated on logistic regression analyses. The mean and median DUP was 9 weeks (standard deviation: 12) and 4 weeks (interquartile range: 2–9), respectively. 24% of the enrolled patients were delayed treatment seekers. Those living 6–10 km away and those living more than 20 km away from the hospital tended to be delayed treatment seekers, while those who had a family history of mental disorders tended to have sought treatment timely. Since the distance to the hospitals was a potential barrier to seeking health care among patients with FES, providing outreach mental health services and transportation support may be considered to shorten treatment delay in Thailand