Family Physicians' Approaches to Mental Health Care and Collaboration with Psychiatrists

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to determine the proportion of family physicians referring patients to psychiatrists and conducting psychotherapy or mental health consultations themselves. Additionally, the factors affecting family physicians' approaches to dealing with mental health patients were investigated, including referrals to psychiatrists and physicians' views about better management plans for patients with mental health disorders. Method In this cross-sectional observational study, online surveys were distributed, using Google forms, to family physicians in primary healthcare centers and hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The participants were 175 family physicians. A previously developed survey under the name "collaboration between psychologists and primary health care physicians" was adapted to suit the purposes of the present study, by changing the aim of the survey from psychologists to family physicians. Results Physicians who received inter-professional training in a clinical training program were more likely to agree that their education prepared them well for collaboration with psychiatrists, compared to those who did not receive such an education (p<0.001). The younger and less experienced physicians were more likely to carry out psychotherapy and mental health consultations by themselves more often than were the more experienced physicians (33.1% versus 9.7%; p<0.001), it has also been shown that almost 90% of physicians agreed that collaboration with psychiatrists is necessary for the care of their patients, and only a third responded that psychiatrists were accessible if and when they want to consult with them. Conclusions Family and primary care physicians must collaborate with psychiatric professionals in order to provide effective services. Moreover, family physicians should receive more education about mental health, and effective communication should be encouraged in order to deliver better care to psychiatric patients in primary healthcare settings.

Keywords: family physicians; mental health; primary health care; psychiatrists; psychiatry.