In the general hospital: A doctors'perception survey

Abstract

Psychosocial factors play an important role in the clinical practice in the general hospital. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the relevance assigned by non psychiatry physicians who work in a teaching general hospital, to psychosocial factors in the context of their day-today clinical practice, and the coping strategies they adopt to deal with them. A second objective is to assess the evaluation of the Consultation-Liaison (C-L) service in a teaching hospital. Method: A previous questionnaire about perception of psychosocial factors in the general hospital (1) was adapted. Our questionnaire consists of 3 sections. A first section gathers socio-demographic information of surveyed physicians; a second section evaluates the relevance assigned by non psychiatry physicians to psychosocial factors, and their coping strategies, and finally, a third new section designed to provide an evaluation of our C-L unit service provision by non psychiatry physicians. Results: Of a total of 219 non specialty physicians responding to the survey, 35.5% stated they had adequate knowledge of psychiatric disorders, 87.3% considered that psychosocial factors influence the origin and prognosis of physical illnesses and 99.5% considered that social and emotional aspects play an important role in their clinical practice. 79.6% considered psychiatrists to be essential for the care of hospitalized patients. Statistical significance was set at 5%. Conclusion(s): This paper highlights the relevance attributed to psychosocial factors in clinical practice and the importance assigned to the C-L services by non specialty physicians of a teaching general hospital.

Efecto condicional de las actitudes hacia pacientes con diagnósticos de salud mental sobre la toma de decisiones en contexto de urgencia según la autopercepción de conocimientos asociados al trabajo con pacientes de salud mental

“…Se usó una escala de 5 ítems en formato Likert. Los ítems fueron adaptados de escalas del estudio "In the general hospital: A doctors'perception survey" (13) y otros fueron elaboración propia (e.g:"En lo que se refiere a trastornos psiquiátricos graves, "¿Qué tan preparado se siente para abordar la suicidalidad en un paciente que consulta en urgencias cuando este no es su motivo de consulta principal?"). La escala presentó índices de confiabilidad excelentes (⍺ = .89).…”

“…En Chile, respecto de la auto-percepción de conocimientos de los médicos hacia los pacientes de salud mental, se observó que 35,5% creía tener un conocimiento adecuado. Los médicos más jóvenes, comprobaron un mayor grado (13) .…”

Quality assessment of a consultation-liaison psychiatry service

“…Although CLP services in the general hospital does not seem to reduce the length of hospitalization [ 8 ], they have a positive impact on mental health problems [ 9 ], and are cost effective [ 10 ]. Joint projects between medical and psychiatric professionals seem to ensure the best way to reduce the existing gap between medical specialties and psychiatry [ 11 ]; Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry services perform generally well in this context, with an earlier study showing an overall positive attitude towards CLP services among general medical hospital staff [ 12 ].…”