Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One-tenth of France's population is prescribed at least one antidepressant, primarily by General Practitioners. The reasons for this high prescription rate remain unclear. One-third of these prescriptions may not comply with cli...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2011-09-01
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| Series: | BMC Family Practice |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/12/99 |
| _version_ | 1818233495743365120 |
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| author | Royen Paul Lebeau Jean-Pierre Auger-Aubin Isabelle Mercier Alain Peremans Lieve |
| author_facet | Royen Paul Lebeau Jean-Pierre Auger-Aubin Isabelle Mercier Alain Peremans Lieve |
| author_sort | Royen Paul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One-tenth of France's population is prescribed at least one antidepressant, primarily by General Practitioners. The reasons for this high prescription rate remain unclear. One-third of these prescriptions may not comply with clinical practice guidelines, and 20% are potentially unrelated to any psychiatric condition. Our aim was to explore how GPs declare they use antidepressants in daily practice and understand their reasons for prescribing them.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Six focus groups including a total of 56 rural and urban GPs, with four interviews were performed. The topic guide focused on reasons for prescribing antidepressants in various primary care situations. Phenomenological analysis was performed by four researchers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Antidepressants were seen as useful and not harmful. Personal assessment based on experience and feeling determined the GPs' decisions rather than the use of scales. Twenty-four "non-psychiatric" conditions possibly leading to prescription of antidepressants in primary care were found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The GPs reported prescribing antidepressants for a wide range of conditions other than depression. The GPs' decision making process is difficult and complex. They seemed to prefer to focus on their difficulties in diagnosing depression rather than on useless overtreatment. Instead of using the guidelines criteria to detect potential cases of useful prescription, physicians tend to use their own tools based on gut feelings, knowledge of the patient and contextual issues.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:23:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68c3256807504525aa5c3279769f38c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2296 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:23:06Z |
| publishDate | 2011-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Family Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-68c3256807504525aa5c3279769f38c12022-12-22T00:25:59ZengBMCBMC Family Practice1471-22962011-09-011219910.1186/1471-2296-12-99Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPsRoyen PaulLebeau Jean-PierreAuger-Aubin IsabelleMercier AlainPeremans Lieve<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One-tenth of France's population is prescribed at least one antidepressant, primarily by General Practitioners. The reasons for this high prescription rate remain unclear. One-third of these prescriptions may not comply with clinical practice guidelines, and 20% are potentially unrelated to any psychiatric condition. Our aim was to explore how GPs declare they use antidepressants in daily practice and understand their reasons for prescribing them.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Six focus groups including a total of 56 rural and urban GPs, with four interviews were performed. The topic guide focused on reasons for prescribing antidepressants in various primary care situations. Phenomenological analysis was performed by four researchers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Antidepressants were seen as useful and not harmful. Personal assessment based on experience and feeling determined the GPs' decisions rather than the use of scales. Twenty-four "non-psychiatric" conditions possibly leading to prescription of antidepressants in primary care were found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The GPs reported prescribing antidepressants for a wide range of conditions other than depression. The GPs' decision making process is difficult and complex. They seemed to prefer to focus on their difficulties in diagnosing depression rather than on useless overtreatment. Instead of using the guidelines criteria to detect potential cases of useful prescription, physicians tend to use their own tools based on gut feelings, knowledge of the patient and contextual issues.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/12/99 |
| spellingShingle | Royen Paul Lebeau Jean-Pierre Auger-Aubin Isabelle Mercier Alain Peremans Lieve Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs BMC Family Practice |
| title | Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs |
| title_full | Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs |
| title_short | Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs |
| title_sort | understanding the prescription of antidepressants a qualitative study among french gps |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/12/99 |
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