Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study

Objectives Little is known about resident physicians being treated at physician health programmes around the world despite the fact that it is a highly demanding training period. This study aims to describe the profiles of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service in Spain ov...

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Main Authors: María Dolores Braquehais, Sergi Valero, Eugeni Bruguera, Gemma Nieva, Sebastián Vargas-Cáceres, Maria Fernanda Mantilla, Germán Ortega, Jose Antonio Ramos-Quiroga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e055184.full
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author María Dolores Braquehais
Sergi Valero
Eugeni Bruguera
Gemma Nieva
Sebastián Vargas-Cáceres
Maria Fernanda Mantilla
Germán Ortega
Jose Antonio Ramos-Quiroga
author_facet María Dolores Braquehais
Sergi Valero
Eugeni Bruguera
Gemma Nieva
Sebastián Vargas-Cáceres
Maria Fernanda Mantilla
Germán Ortega
Jose Antonio Ramos-Quiroga
author_sort María Dolores Braquehais
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Little is known about resident physicians being treated at physician health programmes around the world despite the fact that it is a highly demanding training period. This study aims to describe the profiles of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service in Spain over a 20-year period and to compare them to consultant-grade physicians.Design Retrospective observational study.Setting Medical records of the Galatea Care Programme for Sick Physicians.Participants 1846 physicians registered at the Barcelona Medical Council-Association and admitted to the programme from January 1998 to December 2018.Primary and secondary outcome measures Number of admissions, sociodemographic and clinical variables, including medical specialty, main diagnosis and need of hospitalisation.Results Residents accounted for 18.1% (n=335) of the sample and admissions increased over the years. Most residents (n=311; 94.5%) and consultant-grade physicians (n=1391; 92.8%) were self-referred. The most common specialty among residents was family medicine (n=107; 31.9%), followed by internal medicine (n=18; 5.4%), paediatrics (n=14; 4.2%), psychiatry (n=13; 3.9%) and anaesthesiology (n=13; 3.9%). Residents, regardless of year of training, mainly asked for help because of adjustment (n=131; 39.1%), affective (n=77; 23%), anxiety disorders (n=40; 18.8%) and addictions (n=19; 5.7%). There were no significant differences between groups in the main diagnosis and in the variables related to need of hospitalisation. The percentage of residents accessing the programme was higher than in the reference population registered at the Barcelona Medical Council-Association (18.1% vs 7.6%; z=7.2, p<0.001) as was the percentage of family medicine residents (31.9% vs 19.6%; z=5.7, p<0.001).Conclusions Residents are more likely than consultant-grade physicians to seek help when suffering from mental disorders. Local primary prevention actions since the beginning of their training period and having access to a well-known highly reliable programme may partly explain these findings.
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spelling doaj-art-d4e0d5f3ce33499e838c341170e43c7c2024-12-10T14:40:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-12-01111210.1136/bmjopen-2021-055184Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective studyMaría Dolores Braquehais0Sergi Valero1Eugeni Bruguera2Gemma Nieva3Sebastián Vargas-Cáceres4Maria Fernanda Mantilla5Germán Ortega6Jose Antonio Ramos-Quiroga7Mental Health and Addictions Research Group, CIBERSAM-G27, Vall d`Hebron Institut de Recerca, Barcelona, SpainGalatea Clinic, Barcelona, SpainMental Health, Hospital Universitari Vall d`Hebron, Barcelona, SpainGalatea Clinic, Barcelona, SpainMental Health, Benito Menni, Adult Mental Health Service, L`Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, SpainOutpatient Service, Mental Health Service of Gracia, Barcelona, Catalonia, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry, Vall d`Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Catalonia, SpainPsychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, VHIR, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, SpainObjectives Little is known about resident physicians being treated at physician health programmes around the world despite the fact that it is a highly demanding training period. This study aims to describe the profiles of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service in Spain over a 20-year period and to compare them to consultant-grade physicians.Design Retrospective observational study.Setting Medical records of the Galatea Care Programme for Sick Physicians.Participants 1846 physicians registered at the Barcelona Medical Council-Association and admitted to the programme from January 1998 to December 2018.Primary and secondary outcome measures Number of admissions, sociodemographic and clinical variables, including medical specialty, main diagnosis and need of hospitalisation.Results Residents accounted for 18.1% (n=335) of the sample and admissions increased over the years. Most residents (n=311; 94.5%) and consultant-grade physicians (n=1391; 92.8%) were self-referred. The most common specialty among residents was family medicine (n=107; 31.9%), followed by internal medicine (n=18; 5.4%), paediatrics (n=14; 4.2%), psychiatry (n=13; 3.9%) and anaesthesiology (n=13; 3.9%). Residents, regardless of year of training, mainly asked for help because of adjustment (n=131; 39.1%), affective (n=77; 23%), anxiety disorders (n=40; 18.8%) and addictions (n=19; 5.7%). There were no significant differences between groups in the main diagnosis and in the variables related to need of hospitalisation. The percentage of residents accessing the programme was higher than in the reference population registered at the Barcelona Medical Council-Association (18.1% vs 7.6%; z=7.2, p<0.001) as was the percentage of family medicine residents (31.9% vs 19.6%; z=5.7, p<0.001).Conclusions Residents are more likely than consultant-grade physicians to seek help when suffering from mental disorders. Local primary prevention actions since the beginning of their training period and having access to a well-known highly reliable programme may partly explain these findings.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e055184.full
spellingShingle María Dolores Braquehais
Sergi Valero
Eugeni Bruguera
Gemma Nieva
Sebastián Vargas-Cáceres
Maria Fernanda Mantilla
Germán Ortega
Jose Antonio Ramos-Quiroga
Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
BMJ Open
title Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
title_full Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
title_fullStr Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
title_full_unstemmed Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
title_short Characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service: a retrospective study
title_sort characteristics of resident physicians accessing a specialised mental health service a retrospective study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e055184.full
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