Primary care physicians' and psychiatrists' approaches to treating mild depression

A Qualitative Study of Primary Care Physicians' Approaches to Caring for Adult Adopted Patients

PURPOSE

Adoption has lifelong health implications for 7.8 million adopted people and their families in the United States. The majority of adoptees have limited family medical history (LFMH). Primary care physicians (PCPs) rarely receive training about adoptees including their mental health needs and increased suicide risk. The growing availability and popularity of direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits amplifies the need for PCPs to be prepared to address genetic testing for adoptees with LFMH. This study explores PCP training and approaches to adult adopted patients with LFMH.

METHODS

We used critical adoption studies as a theoretical framework for this study to understand how adoptive identity might shape clinical experiences. We recruited PCPs from Minnesota and Rhode Island via purposive, criteria-based, reputational sampling. We conducted hour-long semistructured qualitative interviews incorporating hypothetical clinical vignettes. Transcripts were coded via template organizing method and analyzed via Immersion-Crystallization.

RESULTS

We interviewed 23 PCPs. They reported receiving little training or resources on adult adoptees with LFMH and showed substantial knowledge gaps regarding mental health and genetic testing for this population. Many failed to adjust history-taking and primary care approaches, which they recognized as potentially resulting in inaccuracies, inappropriate clinical care, and microaggressions while inadvertently triggering anxiety, shame, and distrust among patients. A mismatch between adopted patients' and physicians' understandings of family medical history could strain the therapeutic relationship. Nearly all interviewees viewed additional training to care for adult adoptees with LFMH as beneficial.

CONCLUSION

Future research should expand education and training for PCPs on adult adoptees with LFMH.

Impact of COVID-19 on electroconvulsive therapy practice across Canadian provinces during the first wave of the pandemic

BACKGROUND

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedural treatment that is potentially life-saving for some patients with severe psychiatric illness. At the start of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, ECT practice was remarkably disrupted, putting vulnerable individuals at increased risk of symptom exacerbation and death by suicide. This study aimed to capture the self-reported experiences of psychiatrists based at healthcare facilities across Canadian provinces who were delivering ECT treatments during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., from mid-March 2020 to mid-May 2020).

METHODS

A multidisciplinary team of experts developed a survey focusing on five domains: ECT unit operations, decision-making, hospital resources, ECT procedure, and mitigating patient impact. Responses were collected from psychiatrists providing ECT at 67 ECT centres in Canada, grouped by four geographical regions (Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and Western Canada).

RESULTS

Clinical operations of ECT programs were disrupted across all four regions - however, centres in Atlantic Canada were able to best preserve outpatient and maintenance care, while centres in Western Canada were able to best preserve inpatient and acute care. Similarly, Atlantic and Western Canada demonstrated the best decision-making practices of involving the ECT team and clinical ethicists in the development of pandemic-related guidelines. Across all four regions, ECT practice was affected by the redeployment of professionals, the shortage of personal protective equipment, and the need to enforce social distancing. Attempts to introduce modifications to the ECT delivery room and minimize bag-valve-mask ventilation were consistently reported. All four regions developed a new patient prioritization framework, and Western Canada, notably, aimed to provide ECT to only the most severe cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that ECT provision was disproportionately affected across different parts of Canada. Possible factors that could explain these interregional differences include population, distribution of urban vs. rural areas, pre-pandemic barriers in access to ECT, number of cases, ability to control the spread of infection, and the general reduction in physicians' activities across different areas of health care. Studying these factors in the future will inform how medical centres should respond to public health emergencies and pandemic-related circumstances in the context of procedural treatments.

The NERSH Questionnaire and Pool of Data from 12 Countries: Development and Description

Modern healthcare research has only in recent years investigated the impact of health care workers' religious and other values on medical practice, interaction with patients, and ethically complex decision making. So far, only limited international data exist on the way such values vary across different countries. We therefore established the NERSH International Collaboration on Values in Medicine with datasets on physician religious characteristics and values based on the same questionnaire. The present article provides (a) an overview of the development of the original and optimized questionnaire, (b) an overview of the content of the NERSH data pool at this stage and (c) a brief review of insights gained from articles published with the questionnaire. The pool at this stage consists of data from 17 studies from research units in 12 different countries representing six continents with responses from more than 6000 health professionals. The joint data pool suggests that there are large differences in religious and other moral values across nations and cultures, and that these values contribute to the observed differences in health professionals' clinical practices-across nations and cultures!

Perceived need and availability of psychosocial interventions across buprenorphine prescriber specialties

INTRODUCTION

Psychosocial interventions are often recommended as part of buprenorphine treatment for patients with opioid use disorder, but little is known about prescriber perspectives on their use and how this varies across buprenorphine prescriber specialties.

METHODS

A large US sample of physicians actively prescribing buprenorphine (n = 1174) was surveyed from July 2014 to January 2017. Analyses examined prescriber characteristics and their perceptions and use of psychosocial interventions across three groups of physicians: primary care providers (PCPs), addiction physicians/psychiatrists, and other physicians.

RESULTS

Across all prescribers, 93.3% (n = 1061) report most patients would benefit from formal counseling during buprenorphine treatment while only 36.4% (n = 414) believe there are adequate number of counselors in their communities. Among addiction physicians/psychiatrists, 75.9% (n = 416) report their treatment settings have the resources to provide psychiatric services to patients with complex psychiatric problems compared to 29.1% (n = 130) of PCPs and 29.6% (n = 39, p < .001) of other physicians. Addiction physicians/psychiatrists report a higher percentage of patients receive counseling from clinicians in their practice while PCPs report a higher percentage of patients receive counseling from external providers.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of prescribers believe patients receiving buprenorphine would benefit from psychosocial interventions and there is variation in how these services are delivered. However, many prescribers, especially those without addiction or psychiatry backgrounds, report their settings do not have adequate psychosocial treatment resources for patients with complex psychosocial needs. Future work developing novel models of psychosocial interventions may be helpful to support prescribers to effectively treat complex patients with opioid use disorders.

Funcionalidade em sujeitos com transtorno depressivo maior: avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da escala Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) em amostra brasileira

RESUMO Objetivos: O transtorno depressivo maior (TDM) é muito prevalente e incapacitante, sendo comum a persistência de prejuízos funcionais após a remissão clínica. Pesquisas que se proponham a estudar a reabilitação em TDM são necessárias. Há carência de instrumentos que avaliem a funcionalidade em sujeitos com TDM. Objetiva-se observar as propriedades psicométricas da escala FAST em amostra brasileira, casos (n = 44) e não casos (n = 44) de TDM. Métodos: a) Questionários com informações socioeconômicas e escala Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0.0 para rastrear em sala de espera de serviços ambulatoriais de duas universidades públicas do Estado de São Paulo; b) entrevistas face a face com os instrumentos FAST, Avaliação Global de Funcionamento e Escala de Hamilton para Depressão. Resultados: Houve fortes correlações entre FAST e AGF (rho = −0,85) e entre cada subescala e a escala total (rho = 0,86), boa consistência interna (alfa de Cronbach 0,98) e confiabilidade teste-reteste (Kappa ponderado >0,84). O estudo de validade discriminativa evidenciou que a FAST discrimina os casos de não casos de TDM, assim como moderados/graves dos demais. Conclusão: As propriedades psicométricas da FAST em 88 sujeitos mostraram boa confiabilidade e validade para aferir o impacto da depressão na funcionalidade em brasileiros com TDM. Recomendam-se estudos futuros com amostras maiores.

Common Mental Disorders in Primary Health Care Units: Associated Factors and Impact on Quality of Life

BACKGROUND

Considering the high worldwide prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs), characterizing the association between CMD and quality of life (QoL) constitute a valuable measure to gauge patient's functional impairment due to CMD symptoms.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate factors associated with the incidence of CMD and its impact on the QoL in primary health care (PHC) patients.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study completed in a municipality in Brazil. Standardized tools included the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 to detect CMDs and the WHOQOL-brief to assess QoL, in addition to a sociodemographic and treatment-related questionnaire.

RESULTS

A total of 41.4% of the patients met cutoff scores for a CMD, and the presence of a CMD was associated with female gender and marital status. Patients with CMDs had lower QoL scores than patients who were negative for a CMD.

CONCLUSIONS

CMDs are highly prevalent in PHC settings and affect patients' QoL. The high frequency of CMD in those that seek care through PHC necessitate incorporating mental health services into the range of available services.

Psychiatrists' and primary care physicians' beliefs about overtreatment of depression and anxiety

Critics say that physicians overdiagnose and overtreat depression and anxiety. We surveyed 1504 primary care physicians (PCPs) and 512 psychiatrists, measuring beliefs about overtreatment of depression and anxiety and predictions of whether persons would benefit from taking medication, investing in relationships, and investing in spiritual life. A total of 63% of PCPs and 64% of psychiatrists responded. Most agreed that physicians too often treat normal sadness as a medical illness (67% of PCPs and 62% of psychiatrists) and too often treat normal worry and stress as a medical illness (59% of PCPs, 55% of psychiatrists). Physicians who agreed were less likely to believe that depressed or anxious people would benefit "a lot" from taking an antidepressant (36% vs. 58% of PCPs) or antianxiety medication (25% vs. 42% of PCPs, 42% vs. 57% of psychiatrists). Most PCPs and psychiatrists believe that physicians too often treat normal sadness and worry as a medical illness.

Primary care physicians' and psychiatrists' willingness to refer to religious mental health providers

BACKGROUND

Recent decades have witnessed some integration of mental health care and religious resources.

AIM

We measured primary care physicians' (PCPs) and psychiatrists' knowledge of religious mental health-care providers, and their willingness to refer there.

METHODS

A national survey of PCPs and psychiatrists was conducted, using vignettes of depressed and anxious patients. Vignettes included Christian or Jewish patients, who regularly or rarely attended services. We asked whether physicians knew of local religious mental health providers, and whether they would refer patients there.

RESULTS

In all, 896/1427 PCPs and 312/487 psychiatrists responded. Half of PCPs (34.1%-44.1%) and psychiatrists (51.4%-56.3%) knew Christian providers; fewer PCPs (8.5%-9.9%) and psychiatrists (15.8%-19.6%) knew Jewish providers. Predictors included the following: patients were Christian (odds ratio (OR) = 2.2-2.9 for PCPs, 2.3-2.4 for psychiatrists), respondents were Christian (OR = 2.1-9.3 for PCPs) and respondents frequently attend services (OR = 3.5-7.0 for PCPs). Two-thirds of PCPs (63.3%-64%) and psychiatrists (48.8%-52.6%) would refer to religious providers. Predictors included the following: patients regularly attend services OR = 1.2 for PCPs, 1.6 for Psychiatrists, depression vignette only), respondents were Christian (OR = 2.8-18.1 for PCPs, 2.3-9.2 for psychiatrists) and respondents frequently attend services (OR = 5.1-6.3 for PCPs).

CONCLUSION

Many physicians would refer patients to religious mental health providers. However, less religious PCPs are less knowledgeable about local religious providers.

Physician race and treatment preferences for depression, anxiety, and medically unexplained symptoms

OBJECTIVES

Studies have repeatedly shown racial and ethnic differences in mental health care. Prior research focused on relationships between patient preferences and ethnicity, with little attention given to the possible relationship between physicians' ethnicity and their treatment recommendations.

DESIGN

A questionnaire was mailed to a national sample of US primary care physicians and psychiatrists. It included vignettes of patients presenting with depression, anxiety, and medically unexplained symptoms. Physicians were asked how likely they would be to advise medication, see the patient regularly for counseling, refer to a psychiatrist, or refer to a psychologist or licensed mental health counselor.

RESULTS

The response rate was 896 of 1427 (63%) for primary care physicians and 312 of 487 (64%) for psychiatrists. Treatment preferences varied across diagnoses. Compared to whites (referent), black primary care physicians were less likely to use antidepressants (depression vignette), but more likely to see the patient for counseling (all vignettes), and to refer to a psychiatrist (depression vignette). Asian primary care physicians were more likely to see the patient for counseling (anxiety and medically unexplained symptoms vignettes) and to refer to a psychiatrist (depression and anxiety vignettes). Asian psychiatrists were more likely to recommend seeing the patient regularly for counseling (depression vignette).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, these findings suggest that physician race and ethnicity contributes to different patterns of treatment for basic mental health concerns.

Religion and beliefs about treating medically unexplained symptoms: a survey of primary care physicians and psychiatrists

OBJECTIVE

Historical evidence and prior research suggest that psychiatry is biased against religion, and religious physicians are biased against the mental health professions. Here we examine whether religious and non-religious physicians differ in their treatment recommendations for a patient with medically unexplained symptoms.

METHOD

We conducted a national survey of primary care physicians and psychiatrists. We presented a vignette of a patient with medically unexplained symptoms, and experimentally varied whether the patient was religiously observant. We asked whether physicians would recommend six interventions: antidepressant medication, in-office counseling, referral to a psychiatrist, referral to a psychologist or licensed counselor, participation in meaningful relationships and activities, and involvement in religious community. Predictors included the physician's specialty and the physician's attendance at religious services.

RESULTS

The response rate was 63% (896 of 1427) primary care physicians and 64% (312 of 487) psychiatrists. We did not find evidence that religious physicians were less likely to recommend mental health resources, nor did we find evidence that psychiatrists were less likely to recommend religious involvement. Primary care physicians (but not psychiatrists) were more likely to recommend that the patient get more involved in their religious community when the patient was more religiously observant, and when the physician more frequently attended services.

CONCLUSIONS

We did not find evidence that mental health professionals are biased against religion, nor that religious physicians are biased against mental health professionals. Historical tensions are potentially being replaced by collaboration.

Religion and anxiety treatments in primary care patients

Earlier data suggested that religious physicians are less likely to refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. This follow-up study measures how religious beliefs affect anxiety treatments in primary care. We surveyed US primary care physicians and psychiatrists using a vignette of a patient with anxiety symptoms. Physicians were asked how likely they were to recommend antianxiety medication, see the patient for counseling, refer to a psychiatrist, refer to a psychologist or licensed counselor, encourage meaningful relationships and activities, and encourage involvement in religious community. We experimentally varied symptom severity, whether the patient was Christian or Jewish, and whether she attended religious services. Physician attendance at religious services was assessed in the survey. The response rate was 896 out of 1427 primary care physicians and 312 out of 487 psychiatrists. Religious physicians were more likely to promote religious resources. There was no statistically significant difference between physicians' recommendations for religious and nonreligious patients. There was no statistically significant difference in religious and nonreligious physicians' referrals to a psychologist, licensed counselor, or psychiatrist. Ultimately, we did not find a difference in religious and nonreligious physicians' support for mental health referrals, however, religious physicians were more likely to encourage using religious resources.