Journal Article•
No psychiatry? Assessment of family medicine residents' training in mental health issues.
01 Nov 1999-Canadian Family Physician (College of Family Physicians of Canada)-Vol. 45, pp 2636-2641
TL;DR: The mental health component of the family medicine residency program at Memorial University of Newfoundland, which contains no formal mental health training with psychiatrists, adequately prepares residents for practice, and which aspects of their training enhanced their mental health skills most is assessed.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the mental health component of the family medicine residency program at Memorial University of Newfoundland, which contains no formal mental health training with psychiatrists, adequately prepares residents for practice, and to assess which aspects of their training enhanced their mental health skills most. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mailed survey. SETTING: A 2-year family practice residency program with a focus on training for rural practice offering integrated and eclectic multidisciplinary mental health training rather than formal psychiatry experience. PARTICIPANTS: Graduates of the family practice residency program, 1990 to 1995. Completed questionnaires were returned by 62 of 116 physicians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Confidence of respondents in dealing with 23 mental health problems. RESULTS: Respondents felt prepared to address most of the mental health needs of their patients. Higher levels of confidence were associated with lower referral rates. There was no significant relationship between time spent in practice and confidence in dealing with mental health problems. Graduates' confidence correlated with areas in the program identified as strong. CONCLUSIONS: The program appears to train family doctors effectively to meet the mental health needs of their patients.
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TL;DR: The results suggest that, with some refinements, telehealth technology can be used to facilitate mental health training and promote interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals in a rural setting.
Abstract: This paper reports on the results of a demonstration project that examined the role of telehealth/telemedicine (hereafter referred to as telehealth) in providing interdisciplinary mental health training and support to health professionals in a rural region of Atlantic Canada. Special emphasis was placed on addressing the question of how training might affect interdisciplinary collaboration among the rural health professionals. Five urban mental health professionals from three disciplines provided training and support via video-satellite and internet, print and video resources to 34 rural health and community professionals. In order to assess the rural community's needs and the impact of the interventions, questionnaires were administered and on-site interviews were conducted before and after the project. Throughout the project, field notes were recorded and satisfaction ratings were obtained. Satisfaction with the video-satellite presentations was high and stable, with the exception of one session when signal quality was very poor. Rural participants were most satisfied with opportunities for interaction and least satisfied with the variable quality of the video transmission signal. High staff turnover among rural professionals resulted in insufficient power to permit statistical analysis. Positive reports of the project impact included expanded knowledge and heightened sensitivity to mental health issues, increased cross-disciplinary connections, and greater cohesion among professionals. The results suggest that, with some refinements, telehealth technology can be used to facilitate mental health training and promote interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals in a rural setting.
37 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Overall, FPs were more comfortable with diagnosis, and less comfortable with management, of EDs, and thought these needs could be best addressed in interactive workshops or peer-led case-discussion groups.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE To assess the attitudes and behaviour of family physicians toward patients with eating disorders (EDs) and to assess these physicians' ongoing learning needs. DESIGN Confidential survey by mail. SETTING Family practices in London, Ont. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred thirty-six general FPs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Proportion of FPs seeing patients with EDs, screening and management practices, learning needs. RESULTS Survey response rate was 87.7%; 64% of respondents were male, 36% were female, and 54% had completed a family medicine residency program. Overall, FPs were more comfortable with diagnosis, and less comfortable with management, of EDs. Most respondents shared care with other professionals, usually psychiatrists and nutritionists. Female physicians had identified a larger number of ED patients in their practices and were more likely to screen routinely for EDs. Three quarters of FPs rated their undergraduate training in EDs as poor, and 59% thought their postgraduate training was poor. Outpatient services, diagnostic issues, screening needs, and management planning were identified as important learning needs. Family physicians thought these needs could be best addressed in interactive workshops or peer-led case-discussion groups. CONCLUSION Family physicians are important in first-line treatment of EDs, but many barriers prevent effective diagnosis and management. Validated screening tools and management strategies could assist FPs in caring for patients with EDs.
35 citations
TL;DR: The impact of an interprofessional education programme in mental health for professionals in six rural Canadian communities seemed to benefit most of those professionals who had a mental health background, and has the potential to be of use in rural communities where professionals often do not have access to professional development inmental health.
Abstract: We describe the impact of an interprofessional education programme in mental health for professionals in six rural Canadian communities The 10-session programme, offered primarily via videoconference, focussed on eight domains of mental health practice One hundred and twenty-five professionals, representing 15 professions, attended at least some sessions, although attendance was variable Data were collected between September 2006 and December 2007 The programme was evaluated using a mixed methods approach Participants reported high levels of satisfaction for all topics and all aspects of the presentations: they were most satisfied with the opportunity to interact with other professionals and least satisfied with the videoconference technology Professionals’ confidence (n = 49) with mental health interventions, issues and populations was measured pre- and post-programme There was a significant increase in confidence for seven of the eight mental health interventions and four of the six mental health issues that had been taught in the programme Participants reported developing a more reflective mental health practice, becoming more aware of mental health issues, integrating new knowledge and skills into their work and they expressed a desire for further mental health training They noted that interprofessional referrals, inter-agency linkages and collaborations had increased Conditions that appeared to underpin the programme’s success included: scheduling the programme over an extended time period, a positive relationship between the facilitator and participants, experiential learning format and community co-ordinators as liaisons Participants’ dissatisfaction with the videoconference technology was mitigated by the strong connection between the facilitator and participants One challenge was designing a curriculum that met the needs of professionals with varied expertise and work demands The programme seemed to benefit most of those professionals who had a mental health background This programme has the potential to be of use in rural communities where professionals often do not have access to professional development in mental health
29 citations
Cites background or methods from "No psychiatry? Assessment of family..."
...…technology. ª 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 435 Pre- and post-programme they completed a 30-item questionnaire regarding their confidence in dealing with a range of mental health issues, interventions and populations (adapted from Bethune et al. 1999) (see Tables 3–5 for a list of items)....
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...The individual items in the questionnaire were identified through a needs assessment of rural practitioners’ perceptions of common mental health problems in their communities (Bethune et al. 1999)....
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01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: Self-reported CME needs and preferences for CME delivery methods differ on the basis of region of practice and size of the community in which family physicians' practise.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE To assess the perceived continuing medical education (CME) needs of a cohort of Canadian family physicians. METHODS We distributed a questionnaire survey to Canadian family physicians who became Certificant members of the College of Family Physicians in 2001 and practised outside the province of Quebec. Main outcome measures were self-reported CME needs, professional development needs and preferences for CME delivery methods. RESULTS We distributed 482 surveys and 197 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 40.9%. Significant differences between rural and urban respondents' self-reported CME needs were found in the clinical areas of dermatology, endocrinology, emergency medicine, musculoskeletal, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, psychiatry and urology. Generally, a greater proportion of rural respondents reported significantly higher CME needs in emergency medicine. Urban respondents reported a significant preference for consulting colleagues as a method of CME, while rural respondents reported a significant preference for videoconferencing. CONCLUSION Self-reported CME needs and preferences for CME delivery methods differ on the basis of region of practice and size of the community in which family physicians' practise.
28 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that imbedding explicit training in collaborative care in content focused continuing professional education for more complex and chronic health issues may increase the likelihood that professionals will work together to effectively meet client needs.
Abstract: The benefits of interprofessional care in providing mental health services have been widely recognized, particularly in rural communities where access to health services is limited. There continues...
14 citations
Cites methods from "No psychiatry? Assessment of family..."
...The RMHITP was developed based on feedback from Family Physicians in a study of mental health training at Memorial University’s Family Practice Residency Program (Bethune et al., 1999)....
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