Self-perceived competencies in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders among general practitioners in Lima, Peru

Aim:Toassesstheself-perceivedcompetenciesindiagnosingandtreatingpatientswithmentalhealthdisorders, amongrecentlygraduatedgeneralpractitioners(GPs)fromLima,Peru. Methods:Across-sectionalstudywasperformedinApril2017ataGeneralPractitioner’smeetingheldforthose whoweregoingtoperformthesocialservice,bythePeruvianCollegeofPhysiciansinLima.Attendeeswere invitedtoansweraquestionnairethatevaluatedtheirself-perceptionofcompetenceindiagnosingandtreating fourdifferentmentalhealthdisorders;majordepression,anxietydisorder,alcoholdependence,andschizophrenia. Results:Outof434evaluatedGPs,thefollowingpercentageswereself-perceivedascompetentintheiradequate diagnosisofdepression(70.5%),anxiety(73.3%),alcoholdependence(67.6%),andschizophrenia(62.0%). Concerningpharmacologicaltreatment,thesepercentageswere46.6,47.5,39.0and37.6%,respectively.Referringto allthestudiedmentaldisorders,41.6%ofparticipantsself-perceivedcompetenceinprovidinganadequate diagnosis,36.1%inprovidingnon-pharmacologicaltreatment,and20.1%inprovidingpharmacologicaltreatment. Conclusion:Therateofadequateself-perceivedcompetenceswashigherfordiagnosisthanfortreatmentof patientswithmentalhealthdisorders.Theseresultshighlighttheimportanceofdesigningandimplementing interventionstoimprovemedicaleducationsoastodeveloptheskillsnecessarytoconfrontmentalhealth disorders.