Research
Panic
Anxiety Education
Management Services
Panic Anxiety Disorder Treatment
Needs Research Project
Jasmine Arthur-Jones
INTRODUCTION
Conducted as part of ongoing investigation into the Treatment
Needs of people who experience an Anxiety Disorder. This Project was
undertaken by the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association from December
1996 - February 1997. The Panic Anxiety Disorder Association Inc
(PADA) is the largest consumer organisation in Australia for Anxiety
Disorders. PADA represents people who experience an Anxiety
Disorder, including Panic Disorder, Generalised Anxiety Disorder,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Phobia, and Specific Phobia.
The results are to be used to inform the Australian Federal
Government of the treatment needs of people who experience an
Anxiety Disorder. The primary concern of the research was the type
of treatment options Anxiety Disorder participants had received and
the effectiveness (in their opinion) of those treatment options.
Also investigated was the average time it took for someone to
receive a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder after the first contact with
a Health Professional.
METHOD
The Treatment Needs Research Project questionnaire was designed
by Bronwyn Fox (Panic Anxiety Disorder Association). The
questionnaire obtained data such as participant's gender, age, State
or Territory where they live, primary Anxiety Disorder diagnosis,
who made the diagnosis (eg. GP, psychologist, psychiatrist etc), the
secondary conditions they experience as a result of the Anxiety
Disorder, how long after first contact with a Health Professional
for the Anxiety Disorder to be diagnosed, employment details, number
of visits to GP, psychiatrist, psychologist in past 12 months,
medication they have used, other treatment options they have tried
and their effectiveness. Also investigated was the considered effectiveness
of medication, changing thinking patterns, and graded exposure. Room
was available for comments from the participants.
People who contacted the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association
(PADA) for information received a questionnaire with a Reply Paid
envelope in their Information Package. Many of these people were
first contact with PADA. Participants filled out the questionnaire
and returned them by post. The Treatment Needs Research Project was
closed after 3 months from beginning of the Project. Participants
come from all States and Territories of Australia (plus England).
RESULTS
A total of 518 people with an Anxiety Disorder participated in
the Treatment Needs Research Project. The Age Distribution mean age
39 years (SD=12, range=11 - 76). Gender distribution is 444 (or
85.7%) female, 70 (or 13.5%) male and 4 (or 0.8%) Not Specified
gender. State of origin distribution of participants is shown in
Table 1.
Table 1. State of
origin distribution of participants
| State
of Origin |
South
Australia |
New
South Wales |
Western
Australia |
Victoria |
Queensland |
Northern
Territory |
Tasmania |
Australian
Captial Territory |
Not
Specified |
| Total |
23 |
136 |
54 |
201 |
71 |
4 |
17 |
4 |
7 |
| Capital
city |
19 |
59 |
39 |
129 |
25 |
2 |
8 |
4 |
5 |
| Not
Specified |
2 |
15 |
4 |
22 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
A total of 511 (or 98.6%) of research participants report they
experience an Anxiety Disorder. The remaining 7 (or 1.4%) of
research participants report that they no longer experience an
Anxiety Disorder. Percentile distribution of Anxiety Disorder
diagnosis of Treatment Needs research Project participants are shown
in Table 2. Primary Anxiety Disorder diagnoses are specified in DSM
IV.
Table 2.
Percentile Distribution of Anxiety Disorder Diagnosis of
Research Participants
| Anxiety
Disorder Diagnosis |
% |
Number |
| Panic Disorder |
22.6% |
117 |
| Generalised Anxiety Disorder |
8.7% |
45 |
| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
3.3% |
17 |
| Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
0.7% |
4 |
| Specific Phobia |
1.7% |
9 |
| Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia |
4.2% |
22 |
| Generalised Anxiety Disorder with Agoraphobia |
0.6% |
3 |
| Anxiety Disorder with Major Depression |
4.8% |
25 |
| Social Phobia |
3.7% |
19 |
| Cued panic attacks |
0.6% |
3 |
| Spontaneous panic attacks |
1.7% |
9 |
| Panic attacks |
28.8% |
149 |
| Anxiety Disorder with Agoraphobia |
7.1% |
37 |
| None specified |
11.4% |
59 |
The Percentile Distribution of by whom the Research participants
received their initial diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder is shown in
Table 3. Many research participants were diagnosed by multiple
sources eg. GP and Psychiatrist. 35.8% of participants self
diagnosed first and then were confirmed by a Health Professional.
Table 3.
Percentile Distribution of where Treatment Needs Research
Project participants received an Anxiety Disorder diagnosis.
| Diagnosed by |
% |
| General Practitioner |
52.7% |
| Psychiatrist |
29.9% |
| Psychologist |
20.9% |
| Self-diagnosed |
34.8% |
| Other |
2.5% |
Percentile distribution of secondary conditions experienced by
research participants are shown in Table 4. Many participants
experienced more than one of the secondary conditions of an Anxiety
Disorder.
Table 4.
Percentile Distribution of Secondary Conditions Experienced by
Treatment Needs Research Project participants.
| Secondary Condition |
Number |
% |
| Agoraphobia |
335 |
64.7% |
| Major Depression |
278 |
53.7% |
| Prescribed Drug Dependence |
163 |
31.5% |
| Alcohol Dependence |
58 |
11.2% |
| Suicidal Thoughts |
221 |
42.7% |
| Suicide Attempts |
21 |
4.1% |
| None |
51 |
9.6% |
In total, 444 (or 95% of those experiencing secondary conditions)
responded that they felt that these secondary conditions had
developed as a result of the Anxiety Disorder. Table 5 show
the Percentile distributions of how long after first contact with a
Health Professional did Research participants receive an Anxiety
Disorder diagnosis.
Table 5. Distribution
of how long after first contact with a Health
Professional research participants were diagnosed.
| Time period to receive
Anxiety Disorder diagnosis |
Number |
% |
| Not specified |
47 |
9.1% |
| 1 week |
128 |
24.7% |
| 1 month |
61 |
11.8% |
| 3-6 months |
74 |
14.3% |
| 6-12 months |
85 |
16.4% |
| >12 months |
122 |
23.6% |
| ...2-3 years |
44 |
8.5% |
| ...4-5 years |
18 |
3.5% |
| ...6-7 years |
10 |
1.9% |
| ...8-9 years |
7 |
1.4% |
| ...10-14 years |
15 |
2.9% |
| ...15-19 years |
8 |
1.5% |
| ...20-29 years |
13 |
2.5% |
| |
Of employment details, 282 (or 54%) of participants had never
left their employment as a result of the Disorder. However, 236 (or
46%) of participants left their employment as a result of their
Anxiety Disorder. Of those that left their employment 90 (or 17%) of
participants received Social Security Benefits during that period.
176 (or 28%) did not receive Social Security Benefits during that
period. Of those participants who received Social Security Benefits,
36 (or 7%) no longer receive them and 54 (or 10%) still receive
them. The mean number of months participants received Social
Security Benefits was 31 months.
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