[Qualitative impact of a training program on depressive disorders for primary care physicians].

BACKGROUND: There are suggestions that, despite training efforts for Primary Health Care physicians, difficulties in making accurate diagnoses and timely treatments persist.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of a new training model in Depressive disorders integrated with Mindful Practice, on the diagnostic and therapeutic skills of primary care general physicians.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A voluntary sample of 56 general physicians was studied. The design of this study was experimental and randomized, with two groups attending theoretical sessions followed by differing workshops that were carried out in a parallel fashion. The Quantitative phase of this study considered measuring the impact of training in physician's skills. The Qualitative phase included nine semi-structured interviews and Qualitative Content Analysis. This paper reports the results of the interviews.

RESULTS: As a consequence of training sessions, physicians learned that above the mental health problems, other issues such as self-efficacy and self-confidence are important for the management of depressive patients.

CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study shows that physicians are obtaining significant benefits from their training sessions.