TY - JOUR AU - T. Hornik-Lurie AU - Y. Lerner AU - N. Zilber AU - M. C. Feinson AU - J. G. Cwikel A1 - AB - OBJECTIVES: The study examined attitudes of primary care patients toward mental health treatment and whether ambivalent or negative attitudes change after patients receive recommendations from their primary care physicians to seek treatment from a mental health professional. METHODS: Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with 902 Jewish patients aged 25-75 in eight primary care clinics in Israel. Measures included validated mental health instruments and a vignette eliciting patients' readiness to consider treatment and potential influence of a physician's recommendation. RESULTS: Initially, almost half of patients were reluctant to consider specialized mental health treatment. The probability of having a more positive attitude after the physician's recommendation was significantly higher among patients with more severe clinical diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: A major finding was the positive impact of primary care physicians' recommendations on reluctant patients. Encouraging physicians to discuss mental health issues would likely promote more positive attitudes and increase patients' willingness to access treatment. BT - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) C5 - Education & Workforce CP - 4 CY - United States DO - 10.1176/appi.ps.201300064 IS - 4 JF - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) N2 - OBJECTIVES: The study examined attitudes of primary care patients toward mental health treatment and whether ambivalent or negative attitudes change after patients receive recommendations from their primary care physicians to seek treatment from a mental health professional. METHODS: Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with 902 Jewish patients aged 25-75 in eight primary care clinics in Israel. Measures included validated mental health instruments and a vignette eliciting patients' readiness to consider treatment and potential influence of a physician's recommendation. RESULTS: Initially, almost half of patients were reluctant to consider specialized mental health treatment. The probability of having a more positive attitude after the physician's recommendation was significantly higher among patients with more severe clinical diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: A major finding was the positive impact of primary care physicians' recommendations on reluctant patients. Encouraging physicians to discuss mental health issues would likely promote more positive attitudes and increase patients' willingness to access treatment. PP - United States PY - 2014 SN - 1557-9700; 1075-2730 SP - 541 EP - 545 EP - T1 - Physicians' influence on primary care patients' reluctance to use mental health treatment T2 - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) TI - Physicians' influence on primary care patients' reluctance to use mental health treatment U1 - Education & Workforce U2 - 24687105 U3 - 10.1176/appi.ps.201300064 VL - 65 VO - 1557-9700; 1075-2730 Y1 - 2014 ER -