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General practitioners' conceptions about treatment of depression and factors that may influence their practice in this area. A postal survey

Andersson, Stig J LU ; Troein, Margareta LU orcid and Lindberg, Gunnar LU (2005) In BMC Family Practice 6(21).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The way GPs work does not appear to be adapted to the needs of depressive patients. Therefore we wanted to examine Swedish GPs' conceptions of depressive disorders and their treatment and GPs' ideas of factors that may influence their manner of work with depressive patients. METHODS: A postal questionnaire to a stratified sample of 617 Swedish GPs. RESULTS: Most respondents assumed antidepressive drugs effective and did not assume that psychotherapy can replace drugs in depression treatment though many of them looked at psychotherapy as an essential complement. Nearly all respondents thought that clinical experiences had great importance in decision situations, but patients' own preferences and official clinical guidelines were... (More)
BACKGROUND: The way GPs work does not appear to be adapted to the needs of depressive patients. Therefore we wanted to examine Swedish GPs' conceptions of depressive disorders and their treatment and GPs' ideas of factors that may influence their manner of work with depressive patients. METHODS: A postal questionnaire to a stratified sample of 617 Swedish GPs. RESULTS: Most respondents assumed antidepressive drugs effective and did not assume that psychotherapy can replace drugs in depression treatment though many of them looked at psychotherapy as an essential complement. Nearly all respondents thought that clinical experiences had great importance in decision situations, but patients' own preferences and official clinical guidelines were also regarded as essential. As influences on their work, almost all surveyed GPs regarded experiences from general practice very important, and a majority also emphasised experiences from private life. Courses arranged by pharmaceutical companies were seen as essential sources of knowledge. A majority thought that psychiatrists did not provide sufficient help, while most respondents perceived they were well backed up by colleagues. CONCLUSION: GPs tend to emphasize experiences, both from clinical work and private life, and overlook influences of collegial dealings and ongoing CME as well as the effects of the pharmaceutical companies' marketing activities. Many GPs appear to need more evidence based knowledge about depressive disorders. Interventions to improve depression management have to be supporting and interactive, and should be combined with organisational reforms to improve co-operation with psychiatrists. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
BMC Family Practice
volume
6
issue
21
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:15904500
  • scopus:23044453216
  • pmid:15904500
ISSN
1471-2296
DOI
10.1186/1471-2296-6-21
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0af764a5-6694-4b2c-80cb-6ff8057946a3 (old id 1132261)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:02:12
date last changed
2022-01-28 08:49:48
@article{0af764a5-6694-4b2c-80cb-6ff8057946a3,
  abstract     = {{BACKGROUND: The way GPs work does not appear to be adapted to the needs of depressive patients. Therefore we wanted to examine Swedish GPs' conceptions of depressive disorders and their treatment and GPs' ideas of factors that may influence their manner of work with depressive patients. METHODS: A postal questionnaire to a stratified sample of 617 Swedish GPs. RESULTS: Most respondents assumed antidepressive drugs effective and did not assume that psychotherapy can replace drugs in depression treatment though many of them looked at psychotherapy as an essential complement. Nearly all respondents thought that clinical experiences had great importance in decision situations, but patients' own preferences and official clinical guidelines were also regarded as essential. As influences on their work, almost all surveyed GPs regarded experiences from general practice very important, and a majority also emphasised experiences from private life. Courses arranged by pharmaceutical companies were seen as essential sources of knowledge. A majority thought that psychiatrists did not provide sufficient help, while most respondents perceived they were well backed up by colleagues. CONCLUSION: GPs tend to emphasize experiences, both from clinical work and private life, and overlook influences of collegial dealings and ongoing CME as well as the effects of the pharmaceutical companies' marketing activities. Many GPs appear to need more evidence based knowledge about depressive disorders. Interventions to improve depression management have to be supporting and interactive, and should be combined with organisational reforms to improve co-operation with psychiatrists.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Stig J and Troein, Margareta and Lindberg, Gunnar}},
  issn         = {{1471-2296}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{21}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Family Practice}},
  title        = {{General practitioners' conceptions about treatment of depression and factors that may influence their practice in this area. A postal survey}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-6-21}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/1471-2296-6-21}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}