More or less equal? Trends in horizontal equity in mental health care utilization in Stockholm county, Sweden (2006–2022). Repeated survey-registry linked studies

We observed increasingly higher probability of MHC use among lower-income individuals than their higher-income peers with similar (measured) needs from 2006 to 2015. However, during the pandemic (2021/2022), potential access problems led to diminishing of "pro-poor" inequities in the total sample, and to "pro-rich" inequities among non-Nordic migrants. The Covid-19 disruption to the healthcare system-such as restrictions on in-person visits and the rapid transition to digital healthcare services-along with its impact on care-seeking, may explain the trend shifts.