Analysis of General Practitioners’ Attitudes and Beliefs about Psychological Intervention and the Medicine-Psychology Relationship in Primary Care: Toward a New Comprehensive Approach to Primary Health Care

Abstract

The biopsychosocial paradigm is a model of care that has been proposed in order to improve the effectiveness of health care by promoting collaboration between different professions and disciplines. However, its application still faces several issues. A quantitative–qualitative survey was conducted on a sample of general practitioners (GPs) from Milan, Italy, to investigate their attitudes and beliefs regarding the role of the psychologist, the approach adopted to manage psychological diseases, and their experiences of collaboration with psychologists. The results show a partial view of the psychologist’s profession that limits the potential of integration between medicine and psychology in primary care. GPs recognized that many patients (66%) would often benefit from psychological intervention, but only in a few cases (9%) were these patients regularly referred to a psychologist. Furthermore, the referral represents an almost exclusive form of collaboration present in the opinions of GPs. Only 8% of GPs would consider the joint and integrated work of the psychologist and doctor useful within the primary health care setting. This vision of the role of psychologists among GPs represents a constraint in implementing a comprehensive primary health care approach, as advocated by the World Health Organization.

Association of Continuity of General Practitioner Care with Utilisation of General Practitioner and Specialist Services in China: A Mixed-Method Study

“…Most GPs reported that a lack of technique in behavioural medicine and psychological intervention is their main obstacle in their practice. In the long term, comprehensive primary healthcare models focusing on the person and their relational networks, adopting a life-long, promoting, preventive and curative vision, and taking into account the biological dimensions of the disease together with the individual social aspects should be taken into consideration for improving continuity of services in China [ 43 ].…”

Collaboration between mental health professionals and physicians in the assessment of torture victims in a conflict-ridden area: Complexities and recommendations.

“…The study concluded that this cooperation is feasible but requires a period of adaptation between the two professionals (Solano et al, 2009). Nonetheless, even in recent years, Italian physicians view referrals to psychologists as the only form of collaboration and rarely use the in-office consultation option (Negri et al, 2021).…”

Sikap terhadap Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC) antara Dokter dan Perawat: Scoping Review

“…9 Perawat dan dokter sangat berkontribusi terhadap perawatan pasien, tetapi sering tidak menghargai peran satu sama lain. 10 Dalam penelitian sebelumnya, dokter dan perawat memandang kolaborasi secara berbeda, dokter melihat kolaborasi sebagai mengikuti instruksi dan perintah, sementara perawat melihatnya sebagai peran pelengkap lebih signifikan daripada dokter. 11 Sikap positif profesional kesehatan terhadap IPC merupakan dasar keberhasilan implementasi IPC.…”