Dekning av psykologer i kommunehelsetjenesten: Sosiale og geografiske ulikheter

Background: Mental disorders impose a significant burden of disease on society, and the health authorities have therefore laid down guidelines specifying that psychologists should focus on prevention and treatment of mental disorders in the municipalities. However, since the legal requirement to recruit psychologists was imposed on the municipalities in 2020, it is unclear whether the supply of psychologists in the municipalities has met the demand. The aim of this study was to examine the supply of psychologists in Norwegian municipalities compared with other groups of statutory health personnel and to investigate whether the supply of psychologists is associated with the geographical, economic and social characteristics of municipalities. Method: We compared openly available registry data on the services provided by psychologists, physiotherapists, public health nurses and physicians in the municipalities with data on the municipalities’ economy, centrality and proportion of residents with low income and mental disorders. Results: We found that the number of full-time equivalent positions for psychologists in 2021 was lower than for other statutory professions in the municipality. Analyses showed that the supply of psychologists was better in municipalities with higher incomes while the supply of psychologists in municipalities with a higher prevalence of mental disorders was poorer. The probability of having at least one psychologist was significantly higher in central municipalities. Conclusion: The supply of psychologists in municipal health services is low compared with other groups of health personnel, and geographical and social inequalities exist in access to psychologists in primary health care. Keywords: supply of psychologists, primary care psychologists, social inequality, geographical inequality