Degree Name
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Program
Psychology
Date of Award
8-2014
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Chris Dula Ph.D.
Committee Members
Ginni Blackhart Ph.D., Michael Floyd Ed.D., Jon Webb Ph.D.
Abstract
Although less than half of all patients with mental disorders seek mental health treatment per se, approximately 80% of all people will visit their primary care physician (PCPs) within a year (Strosahl, 1998). However, it is not well understood how to best handle patients presenting with mental health issues in primary care practices. The purpose of this project was to implement an intervention involving a screening measure for anxiety and mood disorders in a primary care setting to increase the volume of anxiety and mood disorder screening, to increase the accuracy of disorder detection, and to also enhance PCPs patterns of referral to mental health professionals (MHPs). Though starting with a quantitative design, difficulties encountered throughout the project eventually led to a largely qualitative analysis, which did yield useful information.
A pilot project demonstrated anxiety and mood disorders were commonly noted in patients’ medical charts (46%), but also found referrals were rarely made for mental health services (7%), despite colocation of a licensed psychologist and licensed clinical social worker within the practice. This indicated that services available to provide comprehensive integrated total health care may not be have been used to their full potential.
In the main project, 59 participants from a family medicine clinic and 20 PCPs from that clinic participated. The My Mood Monitor (M3) was administered to the patients and became part of their Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The M3 screens for anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders within primary care settings. In 2 separate noon conferences, PCPs were trained on diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders and mood disorders, interpretation of M3 results, and the internal Mental Health Professional referral process.
The project was hampered by a full-scale switch from paper-based medical records to an EMR and accompanying lack of user experience with EMR functions, lack of efficient transfer of M3 results into the EMR, and an unforeseen switch of psychologists mid-way through the study. However, results were obtained that showed relatively low levels of PCP review of M3 results, potentially high rates of anxiety disorders and mood disorders within the setting, relatively high levels of PCP knowledge of diagnostic criteria for anxiety and mood disorders, and that patients may not prefer a ‘warm handoff’ model of mental health referral. These findings are couched within a number of important caveats, but future directions for research were clearly implied.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Miesner, Michael T., "Mental Health Referral in Primary Care: Influence of a Screening Instrument and a Brief Educational Intervention" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2398. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2398
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Medical Education Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, Primary Care Commons