AUTHOR=Peitz Diana , Vogelgesang Felicitas , Hölling Heike , Grobe Thomas G. , Frerk Timm , Marschall Ursula , Thom Julia 
  
TITLE=Assessing Unmet Need for Mental Healthcare Among Adults in Germany – Results from a Nationwide Study with Data Linkage
  
JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health
  
VOLUME=Volume 71 - 2026
  
YEAR=2026
  
URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2026.1608979
  
DOI=10.3389/ijph.2026.1608979
  
ISSN=1661-8564
  
ABSTRACT=ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of self-reported (un)met need for mental healthcare and associated barriers among adults in Germany and to compare this information with documented mental healthcare use in order to assess the suitability of this indicator for mental health surveillance.MethodsSelf-report survey and routine data documented by healthcare providers from 6,558 randomly sampled adults insured with a major German health insurance company built the basis of bivariate and multivariate analyses, also examining influences of sociodemographic determinants and mental health literacy. Prevalence estimates were additionally replicated with representative data from two national health surveys (n = 10,676 and n = 27,102).Results57% of individuals with perceived need reported no mental healthcare use in the previous 12 months. Unmet need was associated with younger age, but not with sex or education. Most individuals with an unmet need reported internal barriers in terms of low mental health literacy. Self-report corresponds with documented mental healthcare use.ConclusionMonitoring self-reported met and unmet need can inform healthcare planning from a patient perspective and addresses the mental health treatment gap.