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General practitioners' views towards diagnosing and treating depression in five southeastern European countries
Harhaji, Sanja O'May, Fiona Boderscova, Larisa Chihai, Jana Como, Ariel Hranov, Georgi L. Mihai, Adriana Sotiri, Eugjen
Harhaji, Sanja
O'May, Fiona
Boderscova, Larisa
Chihai, Jana
Como, Ariel
Hranov, Georgi L.
Mihai, Adriana
Sotiri, Eugjen
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Epub Date
Issue Date
2018-10-02
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Abstract
Aim: To assess and compare general practitioners' (GPs’) views of diagnosing and treating depression in five southeastern European countries. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia. The sample included 467 GPs who completed a hard-copy self-administered questionnaire, consisting of self-assessment questions related to diagnosing and treating depression. Results: The most common barriers to managing depression in general practice reported by GPs were: patients’ unwillingness to discuss depressive symptoms (92.3%); appointment time too short to take an adequate history (91.9%), barriers for prescribing appropriate treatment (90.6%); and patients' reluctance to be referred to a psychiatrist (89.1%). Most GPs (78.4%) agreed that recognizing depression was their responsibility, 71.7% were confident in diagnosing depression, but less than one-third (29.6%) considered that they should treat it. Conclusions: Improvements to the organization of mental healthcare in all five countries should consider better training for GPs in depression diagnosis and treatment; the availability of mental healthcare specialists at primary care level, with ensured equal and easy access for all patients; and the removal of potential legal barriers for diagnosis and treatment of depression.
Citation
Duric, P., Harhaji, S., O'May, F. et al. (2018) General practitioners' views towards diagnosing and treating depression in five southeastern European countries. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 13(5), pp. 1155-1164.
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Research Unit
PubMed ID
30277313 (pubmed)
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Journal article
Language
en
Description
This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published by Wiley in Early Intervention in Psychiatry, available online: https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12747b The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1751-7885
EISSN
1751-7893
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Gov't Doc #
Sponsors
National Institute of Health Fogarty International Center, Grant/Award Number: ID43TW009122-01