An integrated approach to general practice mental health training: the importance of context

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The high prevalence of mental disorders and the barriers to detection and treatment of these in general practice are well recognized. As such, the government has placed great emphasis on training general practitioners (GPs) in primary care mental health and on the provision of support for GPs in the delivery of such services. The current paper aims to evaluate a local, rural training program in mental health for GPs. We hypothesized that local 'context-driven' training would lead to increased knowledge and reported change in practice by GPs with mental health patients. METHOD: Locally developed and delivered 'Level 1' training was offered to GPs through the Better Outcomes in Ment..