Lam Tai Pong, Mak Ki Yan, Lam Kwok Fai, Chan Hoi Yan, Sun Kai Sing
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F, Ap Lei Chau Clinic, 161 Main Street, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong.
Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong.
BMC Psychiatry. 2016 Oct 26;16(1):363. doi: 10.1186/s12888-016-1080-6.
There are increasing expectations for primary care practitioners to deal with mental health problems. In Hong Kong, 15 % of the general public consult Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners regularly for their primary health care needs. This study investigated the 5-year outcomes of a western mental health training course for TCM practitioners in Hong Kong.
Structured questionnaire surveys were conducted to compare the TCM practitioners' confidence and engagement in mental health care before and after the Course. The data collected during 2011-2015 were analyzed.
A total of 151 TCM practitioners returned both pre- and post-Course questionnaires, with a response rate of 95.6 %. After the course, there were significant increases in the proportions of participants being confident of recognizing patients with psychological problems (62.9 % before the course vs 89.4 % after), diagnosing common mental health problems (47.7 % vs 77.5 %), and managing them (31.2 % vs 64.3 %). Overall, 66.9 % of the participants reported some increase in their confidence in recognizing patients with psychological problems, diagnosing or/and managing patients with common mental health problems. Qualitative responses illustrated the major improvements were increased awareness of mental symptoms, better understanding of classification of mental disorders and management approaches. On the other hand, barriers included difficulties in understanding medical terms in English, consultation time constraints, and a lack of formal referral system to psychiatrists.
The Course has positive impact on TCM practitioners in handling mental health patients. The findings are useful for designing similar trainings on complementary and alternative medicine practitioners in other countries.
人们对基层医疗从业者处理心理健康问题的期望越来越高。在香港，15%的普通公众定期向中医从业者咨询基本医疗保健需求。本研究调查了香港中医从业者参加西方心理健康培训课程的5年效果。
通过结构化问卷调查比较中医从业者在课程前后对心理健康护理的信心和参与度。对2011年至2015年期间收集的数据进行分析。
共有151名中医从业者返回了课程前后的问卷，回复率为95.6%。课程结束后，有信心识别心理问题患者的参与者比例显著增加（课程前为62.9%，课程后为89.4%），诊断常见心理健康问题的比例（47.7%对77.5%）以及管理这些问题的比例（31.2%对64.3%）。总体而言，66.9%的参与者报告称，他们在识别心理问题患者、诊断或/和管理常见心理健康问题患者方面的信心有所增强。定性回答表明，主要的改善包括对精神症状的认识增加、对精神障碍分类和管理方法的更好理解。另一方面，障碍包括难以理解英语医学术语、咨询时间限制以及缺乏转介精神科医生的正式系统。
该课程对中医从业者处理心理健康患者有积极影响。这些发现有助于在其他国家为补充和替代医学从业者设计类似培训。
