Muhammad Irfan1, Jose Miguel Caldas de Almeida2, Uma Maheswari Irfan3, Usman Ahmad Raza4, Saeed Farooq5. 1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Peshawar Medical College, Riphah International University, Islamabad. 2. Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Mental Health, NOVA University of Lisbon, Compo Martires da Patria, Lisbon, Portugal. 3. College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 4. Department of Community Health Sciences, Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar. 5. Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and practices of general practitioners about diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and determine their association with clinical exposure to such cases in practice. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Peshawar from August 2009 to December 2011 at the clinics of general practitioners enrolled with the provincial Health Regulation Authority. All the listed GPs were contacted and those consenting to participate were included. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge and practices related to diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia. They were categorised as having Good Knowledge/Practice, in this regard, when they responded to >60% of the questions correctly. RESULTS: Of the 135 general practitioners contacted, 114(84.5%) agreed to participate and represented the study sample. Of them, 61(53.5%) physicians did not treat any diagnosed case while 15(13.2%) treated more than 10(8.8%) annually. Only 6(5.3%) practitioners spent more than 30 minutes, while 22(19.3%) spent less than 10 minutes per patient. Besides, 14(12.3%) practitioners had good knowledge about schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment, while 100(87.7%) had poor or no knowledge. Similarly, 32(28.1%) practitioners had good practice skills regarding schizophrenia compared to 82(71.9%) having poor practice skills or no practice regarding schizophrenia. General practitioners who were not treating any patients with schizophrenia had lower knowledge and practice scores compared to those who were treating one or more patients with schizophrenia annually (p<0.001 each). CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge and practice skills of general physicians were below average by medical standards regarding schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and practices of general practitioners about diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and determine their association with clinical exposure to such cases in practice. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Peshawar from August 2009 to December 2011 at the clinics of general practitioners enrolled with the provincial Health Regulation Authority. All the listed GPs were contacted and those consenting to participate were included. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge and practices related to diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia. They were categorised as having Good Knowledge/Practice, in this regard, when they responded to >60% of the questions correctly. RESULTS: Of the 135 general practitioners contacted, 114(84.5%) agreed to participate and represented the study sample. Of them, 61(53.5%) physicians did not treat any diagnosed case while 15(13.2%) treated more than 10(8.8%) annually. Only 6(5.3%) practitioners spent more than 30 minutes, while 22(19.3%) spent less than 10 minutes per patient. Besides, 14(12.3%) practitioners had good knowledge about schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment, while 100(87.7%) had poor or no knowledge. Similarly, 32(28.1%) practitioners had good practice skills regarding schizophrenia compared to 82(71.9%) having poor practice skills or no practice regarding schizophrenia. General practitioners who were not treating any patients with schizophrenia had lower knowledge and practice scores compared to those who were treating one or more patients with schizophrenia annually (p<0.001 each). CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge and practice skills of general physicians were below average by medical standards regarding schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment.
Entities:
Keywords:
Knowledge, Practice, Schizophrenia, General Practitioner (GP).
Authors: Maria Ishaq Khattak; Lisa Dikomitis; Muhammad Firaz Khan; Mukhtar Ul Haq; Umaima Saeed; Naila Riaz Awan; Zia Ul Haq; Thomas Shepherd; Christian D Mallen; Saeed Farooq Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-08-29 Impact factor: 3.752