Knowledge of depression among general practitioners

General practitioners (GPs) are the backbone of any health care delivery system. This is also true for Pakistan where a large number of patients approach them as a first line of care for their health related problems. Among psychiatric illnesses, depression is the most common and a cause of great psychiatric morbidity. Most of the patients presenting to general practitioners with the problem of depression are treated for physical illness and hence the core problem remains unaddressed. A study was conducted with the aim of assessing the level of knowledge among the general practitioners about depression. A proforma comprising objective test items was designed and administered to 115 GPs from all the districts of Karachi who were conveniently selected. The expected standard of answers was compared with the answers given by the GPs. This proforma besides eliciting demographic information also yielded a score which when converted into a percentage scale gave a mean score of 33.9%. On the basis of the international standard, a score of 60 was acceptable in order to judge that the knowledge was adequate. The scoring did not have significant association with the years of practice, age group and postgraduate qualification of the general practitioners. It was thus conducted that the level of knowledge of GPs about depression was inadequate and there was a need to improve undergraduate training in psychiatry and promotion of continuing medical education for general practitioners.