Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions



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CURRENT ISSUE BACK ISSUES SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE ABOUT JCEHP FOR AUTHORS JCEHP AWARD SEARCH (Members only) FULL-TEXT		Volume 23 (4) Volume 23, Issue 4, Fall 2003 J Contin Educ Health Prof 2003; 23(4):239-243 ORIGINAL ARTICLES Short-term educational intervention improves family physicians' knowledge of depression Kutcher S Lauria-Horner B MacLaren C Bujas-Bobanovic M Karlovic Z A b s t r a c t INTRODUCTION: Depression is frequently unrecognized and undertreated. Therefore, there is a need to increase the knowledge and skills of primary care physicians regarding management of depression. The aim of this study was to determine if a brief educational intervention can affect family physicians' knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of depression. METHOD: Sixty-eight community-based, nonacademic family physicians completed the program, which was delivered using a mixed lecture-seminar format. Knowledge about depression was assessed pre- and post-program. Paired-sample t test and chi-square test were used to compare test scores. RESULTS: Although study physicians demonstrated high baseline knowledge of depression, 75% of them had better scores following the program. The increase in knowledge was statistically significant (p < .0001). DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates that a simple and brief educational program can enhance family physicians' knowledge of depression; however, an increase in knowledge alone may not necessarily translate into practice behavior change. Lessons for Practice Well-designed, brief educational programs can enhance family physicians' knowledge of depression. It is possible to improve knowledge of depression even in those physicians who are relatively proficient in this area. Continuing medical education programs should not focus solely on increasing knowledge but should also focus on improving skills and providing useful tools for clinical practice. MeSH Terms: Depression; Education, Medical, Continuing; Educational Measurement; Physicians, Family; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Multicenter Study
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