FAMILY PHYSICIANS’ MOTIVATION PROCESS TOWARD THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF DEPRESSION

Abstract

Depression is a widespread disease and remarks a difficult clinical challenge for primary health care providers or physicians. Primary health care providers, namely Family Physicians (FPs), are crucial in recognizing and managing depression process. The study employed a cross-sectional survey of FPs’ attitudes toward diagnosis and management, asking about their perceptions of their patient depression process. Data for the study was gathered from the FPs who were Facebook group members. 229 out of 550 FPs answered the survey questions. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 24th edition. The study examined whether FPs made a significant difference between gender and years of experience in the profession. A questionnaire comprising items on a 9-point Likert scale was used to capture the perceptions and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was further employed to examine if the critical factors were perceived differently by FPs’ experience years. The study findings presented that gender did not make a statistically significant difference. There was a significant difference between the 6-10 years of experience group of FPs, the 16-20 years of experience group, and the 21+ years group. The study showed that FPs were undecided in diagnosing and treating depressed patients. The study displayed that FPs' getting to know their patients better facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of depression. However, the study indicated that family physicians were indecisive in the depressed patients' diagnosis and treatment. It can be concluded that the success of depression processes requires the cooperation of FPs and psychiatrists. These findings suggest that healthcare policymakers should consider FPs' strategies for managing depression in the improvement of mental health services.