[On the front line: survey on shared responsibility. General practitioners and schizophrenia]

Variables associated with general practitioners taking on serious mental disorder patients

BACKGROUND

As part of community-based initiatives to strengthen integrated care and promote patient recovery, GPs are asked to play a greater part in treating serious mental disorder (SMD) patients. All current healthcare reforms favour the reinforcement of primary care. More information on enhancing the role of GPs in mental health would benefit policymakers, especially as regards SMD patients, where little research has been published as yet. This article assesses variables associated with GPs taking on SMD patients.

METHODS

The study, encompassing multiple sites, is based on a sample of 398 GPs, representative of the GP population in the Canadian province of Quebec. GPs were asked to answer a 143-item questionnaire on their socio-demographic and clinical practice profiles, patient characteristics, perceived inter-professional relationships and quality of care. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Our data highlighted that GPs currently followed up only a minority of SMD patients on a continuous basis and far fewer for both physical and mental health problems. A linear regression model that accounts for 43% of the variance was generated. The best variables associated positively with GPs taking on SMD patients were: frequency of referrals for joint follow-up with other resources, and involvement in post-hospitalization follow-up. Conversely, lack of expertise in mental health (related in our model to frequency of mental disorder patient transfer due to insufficient mental health training) is associated with a lower incidence of GPs taking on patients.

CONCLUSION

As advocated in current healthcare reforms, our study confirms the need to promote greater GP involvement in integrated care models and enhance their training in mental health--thereby helping to reverse the trend among GPs of transferring SMD patients to specialized care. Patients with stable SMDs ought to have the same care access as the general population.

Médecins omnipraticiens : pratiques et intégration des soins en santé mentale au Québec

Cet article examine le profil sociodémographique des médecins omnipraticiens (MO), leur rôle dans la prise en charge des troubles mentaux (transitoires/modérés, graves/persistants) dans les différents territoires (urbain, semi-urbain ou rural) du Québec, et si la pratique clinique et de collaboration de ces derniers est orientée vers une intégration des services de santé mentale. Cette étude transversale est basée sur 398 MO représentatifs de l’ensemble des MO du Québec qui répondaient à un questionnaire. L’étude révèle que les MO jouent un rôle central en santé mentale. Le profil sociodémographique et de pratique diffère selon les territoires. Les types de territoire et le degré de gravité du trouble mental influencent la propension des MO à intégrer les soins de santé mentale. Enfin, les MO pratiquent majoritairement en silo, mais soutiennent un renforcement de l’intégration des services de santé mentale. Les auteurs concluent que pour favoriser l’intégration des services de santé mentale, des incitatifs plus proactifs devraient être soutenus par les élites politiques et adaptés en fonction de la gravité des cas et des milieux. La pénurie des ressources, particulièrement frappante en milieu rural et l’insuffisance de mécanismes d’aide à la décision clinique, réduisent néanmoins les relations interprofessionnelles et limitent sérieusement l’intégration du dispositif de soins.