Interventions to improve provider diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in primary care - A critical review of the literature

The authors conducted a critical review of the literature on interventions to improve provider base for relevant articles published from 1966 through May 1998 and finding 48 usable controlled studies (27 randomized controlled trials and 21 quasi-experimental studies). Improved diagnosis of mental di sorders was reported in 18 of 23 (78%) of the studies examining this outcom e and improved treatment in 14 of 20 studies (70%); clinical improvement in psychiatric symptoms or functional status was documented in 4 of II and 4 of 8 (36% and 50%, respectively). Considerable study heterogeneity preclude d subjecting the literature synthesis to a formal meta-analysis of pooled r esults; the authors were therefore unable to demonstrate an association bet ween efficacy of an intervention and any specific variables. A variety of i nterventions and in primary care primary care.