General practitioners' attitude and performance about the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorder

Despite the high prevalence of depression and the need for timely diagnosis and treatment, research results show different and sometimes contradictory attitudes and practices among general practitioners about depressed patients. This study investigated the attitude and performance of general practitioners in depression diagnosis and treatment.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 in Yasuj, Iran. One hundred and two general practitioners participated in this study using convenience sampling. The Revised Depression Attitude Assessment Questionnaire (R-DAQ) was used to collect participants' attitudinal information regarding depression, and the checklists completed by standard patients were used to evaluate their performance status. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 software using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The average score of the overall attitude of the participants was 77.09 ± 21.03 and the average score in three domains, including professional trust in depression care, optimism in depression treatment, and public opinion about the occurrence of depression, its identification, and its management were 22.31 ± 6.47, 36.54 ± 9.51, and 19.05 ± 5.05, respectively. The mean score of overall diagnosis was 42.09 ± 19.24, and the mean score of treatment measures was 4.20 ± 3.06. There was no statistically significant difference between male and female participants in terms of performance score (P > 0.05). Also, the results showed that there was no correlation between the attitude score of the participants (dimensions and overall score) and the performance score (diagnosis and treatment).

The findings of this study showed that the performance of general practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorder was relatively weak. Considering the high prevalence of depressive disorder in societies and the need for timely and appropriate diagnosis and treatment of this disorder, it is important to empower general practitioners in this regard. Therefore, medical schools and continuing education centers can play an essential role in solving this problem by revising the educational programs related to general practitioners.