Clinical Severity and the Mental Health Treatment Gap Among Nursing Students: Findings From the Healthy Minds Study.

Background

Nursing students report high rates of psychological distress, but how their use of mental health treatment varies with symptom severity is unclear.

Purpose

To describe mental health symptom prevalence and treatment use among nursing students and examine the association between clinical severity and help-seeking.

Methods

Secondary analysis of 2024 to 2025 Healthy Minds Study data from nursing students (N = 5817). Depression and anxiety were measured with the PHQ-9 and GAD-7; suicidality and past-year therapy were self-reported. χ2 tests and odds ratios assessed associations.

Results

Overall, 64.4% screened positive for ≥1 mental health problem, but only 33.3% reported past-year therapy. Help-seeking rose with severity (odds ratio, 1.76 for major depression to 2.87 for suicide attempt; all P < .001), yet more than 40% reporting a suicide attempt received no care.

Conclusions

Clinical severity alone does not ensure treatment; proactive, profession-sensitive strategies are needed.