TITLE:
Designing Effective CME—Potential Barriers to Practice Change in the Management of Depression: A Qualitative Study
AUTHORS:
Mandana Shirazi, Sagar V. Parikh, Ideh Dadgaran, Charlotte Silén
KEYWORDS:
CME; Depression; Primary Care; Qualitative Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.11A,
November
29,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Aim: The main aim of the current study is to
explore GPs’ micro level obstacles of behavior change which affects diagnosis
and management of Depressive Disorders following attendance at a Depression CME
event. Methods: In this
qualitative study, semi-structured interviews exploring GPs’ perceptions and
experiences regarding the diagnosis and treatment of depression were done. A
purposeful sampling to obtain a broad range of views was carried out among GPs
that had participated in an educational intervention study three years earlier.
Eleven GPs were interviewed and their views were probed in depth to get rich
descriptions to ensure trustworthiness of the data. The data were analyzed by
using qualitative content analysis. Results: GPs’ beliefs regarding
micro level barriers emerged as two important themes individual and workplace factors. The individual themes included:
educational and professional, and the contextual themes included: psychological
disorders and work place categories. The results showed different perceptions
on the barriers between the two groups of GPs, those who did change and had a
positive perception of the CME program they participated in three years ago,
and some who did not change. Conclusion: The results of this study imply
that a number of micro level obstacles were of great importance when managing
patients with depression disorders. In order to improve the effectiveness of
CME events they should be tailored for the individual and address workplace
issues i.e. both individual and contextual factors need attention.