Assessment of an Educational Model For Primary Health Care Physicians: İmproving Knowledge and Skills on Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Objective:

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the training model, designed for primary care physicians on child and adolescent development, preventive mental health and. early diagnosis of mental health problems in children and adolescents. Variables regarding personal and training processes, which might have an impact on the effectiveness of the course, were also addressed. Final aim is to contribute to the development of effective continuous medical education models that suit the demands of Turkey.

Method:

The study is designed to be a prospective case-control: The 69 primary care physicians working at İzmir municipality constituted the education group whereas 60 physicians working at a similar setting were assigned as a control group. Participants were asked to fill in the socio-demographic data sheet and two questionnaires on 'Expectations & Motivation' and 'Vocational Satisfaction' and were asked to take a pretest to assess the level of their theoretical knowledge. The education group attended the course which lasted 16 weeks, each composed of a didactic presentations and interactive training sessions each lasted one hour. At the end of the course, both groups were asked to answer the same questionnaires and took the ‘post-test’ to assess their current knowledge on the topics of the course.

Results:

The level of knowledge on child and adolescent psychiatry as well as the willingness to attend to further trainings for physicians in the education group displayed a significant increase compared to the control group. There was a direct correlation between the post-test and job satisfaction scores. Occupational satisfaction scores did not show any difference between the groups. The physicians' expectation that the training course would contribute to their own family relations, was not met (p=0.001) and significant number of them expressed that the time and effort they allocated to the course was not worth and their clinical practices were not improved (p=0.010 and p=0.950, respectively).

Discussion:

Considering strengths and weaknesses of the present education model it is suggested that it could contribute in designing further research which could address effective education models meeting the demands and fulfilling the conditions of Turkey who has not yet established necessary standards for continuous medical education.