Theory of planned behaviour: general practitioners’ prescribing and referral behaviour

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie L Webb

Rationale and aims: The vast majority of patients seen in general practice present with a mental health component to their illness. Despite current clinical guidelines, suggesting referral to psychological-based treatments being a more appropriate course of action, anti-depressant prescription remains high for those suffering common mental health problems (CMHPs). This study aimed to investigate General Practitioners’ (GPs) behaviour regarding the prescription of antidepressants and referral to psychological-based treatment for individuals with CMHPs, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).  Method: Online and postal questionnaires were developed in line with the TPB model following consultation, pilot study and cognitive debriefing. Questionnaires were distributed to all working GPs in Wales, UK. Data underwent statistical analysis.Results: Analysis of responses (n=127) showed a GP’s decision to prescribe antidepressants to patients with CMHPs is significantly influenced by both ‘attitude’ and ‘subjective norm’, while perceived behavioural control was non-significant. Over half of the study GPs did not feel in control of prescribing antidepressants to those with CMHPs. GPs’ intention to refer for psychological-based treatment was significantly influenced by attitude, while further analysis showed GPs did not feel in control of referring for psychological-based treatment.Conclusion: Using TPB helped to explain GPs’ antidepressant prescribing and referral to psychological-based treatment behaviours. GPs’ intention to prescribe and refer were shown to be moderated by behavioural and normative beliefs, while control beliefs were non-significant. The presence of personal experience as a predictable feature to prescribing and referral behaviour is something that could figure more prominently within early phases of medical training.

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-564
Author(s):  
Christine O’Connell ◽  
Roz Shafran ◽  
Paul M Camic ◽  
Mandy Bryon ◽  
Deborah Christie

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors influencing referral of children with physical illness to paediatric psychology. Due to high rates of mental health problems within this population, studies have shown that referral to paediatric psychology should be increased. However, few studies have examined factors shaping healthcare professionals’ referral behaviour. Methods: This study used the theory of planned behaviour to develop a questionnaire which explores factors influencing the referral of children and families to paediatric psychology. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were examined. Results: The questionnaire was found to have good reliability and validity. The main constructs of the theory of planned behaviour were useful in predicting intention to refer to paediatric psychology. Specific beliefs about referral were shown to influence intention to refer. Conclusion: Findings suggest that individual attitudes and beliefs can impact healthcare professionals’ referral behaviour, indicating that multidisciplinary interventions and inter-professional education relating to the psychological aspects of illness are required.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-236
Author(s):  
Balu Ramoo ◽  
Chong Yee Lee ◽  
Cheng Ming Yu

Despite various government efforts incorporating economic, social and political considerations in curbing emigration problem, brain drain remains an issue in Malaysia. This paper examines the determinants of migration from behavioural perspectives. Using Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model, the engineers’ salient beliefs on migrating abroad were elicited using qualitative analysis. A number of new behavioural, normative and control beliefs were identified. The elicitation of the engineers’ salient beliefs is essential in developing appropriate behavioural intervention programmes to reduce their intention to migrate abroad. The methodology developed in this study can also assist future researchers to identify the salient beliefs of people who have high intention to migrate abroad.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1855-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Schomerus ◽  
H. Matschinger ◽  
M. C. Angermeyer

BackgroundMany people suffering from mental disorders do not seek appropriate help. We have examined attitudes that further or hinder help-seeking for depression with an established socio-psychological model, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), comparing models for respondents with and without depressive symptoms.MethodA qualitative preparatory study (n=29) elicited salient behavioural (BB), normative (NB) and control beliefs (CB) that were later included in the TPB questionnaire. Telephone interviews with a representative population sample in Germany (n=2303) started with a labelled vignette describing symptoms of a major depression, followed by items covering the components of the TPB. Intention to see a psychiatrist for the problem described was elicited at the beginning and at the end of the interview. We screened participants for current depressive symptoms using the mood subscale of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).ResultsIn non-depressed respondents (n=2167), a TPB path model predicted 42% of the variance for the first and 51% for the second question on intention. In an analogous model for depressed respondents (n=136), these values increased to 50% and 61% respectively. Path coefficients in both models were similar. In both depressed and non-depressed persons, attitude towards the behaviour was more important than the subjective norm, whereas perceived behavioural control was of minor influence.ConclusionsWillingness to seek psychiatric help for depression can largely be explained by a set of attitudes and beliefs as conceptualized by the TPB. Our findings suggest that changing attitudes in the general population are likely to effect help-seeking when people experience depressive symptoms.


Author(s):  
Julie Høgsgaard Andersen ◽  
Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen ◽  
Susanne Reventlow ◽  
Annette Sofie Davidsen

The international literature shows that primary care is well placed to address mental health problems in young people, but that primary care professionals experience a range of challenges in this regard. In Denmark, young adults who have complex psychosocial problems, and who are not in education or work, cause political and academic concern. They are also in regular contact with their general practitioners, the Danish municipalities and psychiatric services. However, little is known about general practitioners’ perspectives on caring for this vulnerable group of patients. In this article, we investigate how general practitioners’ care work is shaped by the bureaucratic management of care in a complex infrastructure network comprising the general practitioners, psychiatry, the municipalities and the young adults. The analysis is based on interviews and focus groups with general practitioners, psychiatric nurses and social workers. We employ Tronto’s concept of care and the concept of boundary work as a theoretical framework. We argue that general practitioners strive to provide care, but they are challenged by the following: contested diagnostic interpretations and the bureaucratic significance of diagnoses for the provision of care from psychiatry and the municipalities, systemic issues with handling intertwined social and mental health problems, and the young adults’ difficulties with accessing and receiving available care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i1-i1
Author(s):  
P Donyai ◽  
N Patel ◽  
H Almomani

Abstract Introduction The internet provides a platform for both legal and illegal online suppliers of medicines, which are sometimes difficult to distinguish between. Therefore, consumers accessing the internet are at risk of purchasing fake medicines from illegal suppliers. This is particularly problematic when people buy Prescription-Only Medicines (POMs) from the internet, despite an abundance of governmental campaigns 1. This under-researched issue has nonetheless been highlighted in news articles in the past few years which are a potential source of information, albeit informally, about how and why people end up buying fake medicines via the internet. This study is phase-1 of a larger study that aims to develop a questionnaire using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)2 to examine risky online purchasing of medicines to help focus future campaigns. Aim The aim is to identify the factors that lead people to inadvertently buy fake POMs online by examining newspaper articles covering this topic and categorising the findings according to the TPB’s indirect measures; namely, behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs. Methods Newspaper articles were collected from the electronic database “ProQuest” using a series of search words for retrieving newspaper articles covering the purchasing of fake medicines online throughout the world. The search was limited to articles published from April-2019 to March-2020 to retrieve relevant articles in this fast-developing field. Articles that did not focus on POMs or only covered the supply side (e.g. efforts to combat illegal suppliers) were excluded. After evaluating each article using the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 52 articles remained. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the newspaper articles against the TPB. The NVivo software program (version 12) was used to aid the generation of the themes. Results Using thematic analysis, 12 themes were generated and categorised according to the TPB’s indirect measures as follows. The behavioural beliefs (i.e. advantages and disadvantages of buying medicines online) included a perception of convenience, low price, privacy of the purchase, potential harmful effect, low quality, and lack of medical oversight. The normative beliefs (i.e. social factors influencing decisions to buy medicines online) included endorsement by influencers, deceptive marketing by suppliers, as well as organizations fighting the fake supply chain. The control beliefs (i.e. what encourages or stops purchasing medicines online) included encountering medicines shortages, outbreak of pandemic diseases, and accessibility issues. Conclusion This newspaper-analysis study created an initial map of ideas for why consumers might inadvertently buy fake POMs online highlighting the complexity of personal beliefs as well as a range of external circumstances. Further exploring these factors provides the basis for future campaigns for changing/controlling the purchasing of fake medicines online. Although the newspaper articles offer a wide range of data and provide different points of view, the validity of their content cannot be proven and are taken at face value. Therefore, the next step for this study is to complete semi-structured interviews with consumers purchasing medicines online (Phase-2) to verify the themes generated in Phase-1 before developing a larger questionnaire study (Phase-3). References 1. HM Government. Protect your health when buying medicines online. Accessed 08 October 2020 from: https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/ 2. Ajzen, I. The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational behaviour and human decision processes. 1991; 50 (2),179–211.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
P Sharma ◽  
P Sharma ◽  
N Thakur ◽  
S Sharma ◽  
M Pokharel

Introduction: School mental health is one of the important areas where early detection can lead to appropriate early intervention and burden of disease can be minimized. There is dearth of prevalence studies of common mental disorders on school going adolescents in Nepal. Considering this we aimed to study the prevalence of common mental health problems and substance use in school going adolescents. Material And Method: We evaluated 240 students for common mental disorders (depression and anxiety) using translated version of PHQ-4 and substance use single validated question after taking consent from school authorities and assent from students. Results: It was seen that 68.8 % students had psychological distress. 22.9 % and 27.5% of students had anxiety and depression respectively on screener and 23.3% students had use of substance at least once within a year. When compared male had significantly higher number of substance use as compared to female but no difference in PHQ-4 scores were seen when compared between gender and history of substance use. Conclusion: The study shows the current scenario of school going adolescents in Nepal and highlights the need of prevalence data on more generalizable setting.


1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce R. Deforge ◽  
Jeffery Sobal

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems in the elderly, but there is little consensus about the best way to assess depression in the aged. The relationship between the CES-D and the ZUNG self-report depression scales was investigated in seventy-eight elderly people with osteoarthritis (mean age 71). The correlation between the scales was r = .69, with the CES-D classifying 15 percent of the participants as depressed, as compared to 6 percent by the ZUNG. Psychological symptoms had the strongest relationship with overall depression scores on both scales. No sex differences were found on psychological items on either scale, but females reported more somatic symptoms on the ZUNG. People over age seventy-four reported more psychological symptoms than their younger counterparts.


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