USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES IN PRIMARY-CARE

Objective: To determine the use of psychological measures among primar y care physicians. Design: Survey. Setting: Primary care practices in Ohio. Subjects: Active members of the Ohio Academy of Family Physician s. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures:Subjects' use ''ever'' a nd ''during the past 12 months'' of 11 psychological measures encounte red in primary care settings. Results: Approximately 80% of 521 respon dents acknowledged having used 1 or more of the listed psychological m easures in clinical practice. Of the measures listed, each was endorse d by some proportion of respondents. The majority of physicians who ha d ever used a particular measure had done so in the preceding 12 month s. Compared with respondents who did not use psychological measures in practice, unique predictors for those who did were being relatively y ounger, female, and practicing in more densely populated areas. Conclu sion: Most family physicians have used psychological measures in clini cal practice.