The physician perspective of health psychologists in medical settings

In recent years psychology has defined for itself an expanding role in health care. Although more and more psychologists have gained entry into medical settings, evaluation efforts directed at assessing progress and obstacles have been extremely limited. The purpose of this study was to gather information from physicians regarding their level of knowledge, acceptance, and utilization of psychologists in hospital settings. Survey responses from 397 physicians to a 15 item paper and pencil questionnaire were analyzed according to medical specialty, type of practice, sex of physician, and number of years in practice. Overall, the findings were quite favorable toward psychologists though differences associated with physicians' age, sex, and specialty did emerge. Discussion of the findings included suggestions underlying the importance of evaluation efforts and methods of improving the future integration of health psychologists into health care organizations.