TY - JOUR
PY - 2018//
TI - The prevalence and treatment of mental health conditions documented in general practice in Ireland
JO - Irish journal of psychological medicine
A1 - O'Doherty, Jane
A1 - Hannigan, Ailish
A1 - Hickey, Louise
A1 - Meagher, David
A1 - Cullen, Walter
A1 - O'Connor, Raymond
A1 - O'Regan, Andrew
SP - 1
EP - 8
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - OBJECTIVES: As prevalence of mental health disorders increases worldwide, recognition and treatment of these disorders falls increasingly into the remit of primary care. This study investigated the prevalence and management of adults presenting to their general practitioner (GP) in Ireland with a psychological condition.
METHODS: A random number function was used to select 100 patients with a consultation in the previous 2 years from 40 general practices around Ireland. The clinical records of these patients were examined using a standardised reporting tool to extract information on demographics, eligibility for free care, prevalence and treatment of psychological conditions.
RESULTS: From a sample of 3845 'active' patients, 620 (16%, 95% confidence interval 15-17%) had a documented psychological condition in the previous 2 years. The most common diagnoses were depression (54%) followed by stress and anxiety (47%). The following patient characteristics were associated with having a documented mental health condition: female gender; higher GP consultation rate; a referral or attendance at secondary care and eligibility for free GP care. Of those with a psychological condition, 34% received a psychological intervention and 81% received a pharmacological intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence estimate of mental health disorders for this sample was lower than previously documented in primary care. Patients diagnosed with mental health disorders had higher utilisation of health services and pharmacological treatment was common. Language: en
LA - en
SN - 0790-9667
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2018.48
ID - ref1
ER -