RESUMO
BACKGOUND: In order to reduce the treatment gap of mental disorders, the World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed the mhGAP guidelines to be implemented globally. AIM OF THE STUDY: To examine the effectivity of a training course based on the WHO-mhGAP guidelines to increase knowledge and readiness for identification and management of depression and suicide risk in primary care (PC) in Mexico. METHODS: PC clinicians were invited to participate in a traning course; before and after it, all completed an evaluation of knowledge of mhGAP and depression (0-10 points), and self-efficacy in suicide risk management (0-40 points), and were classified according to Prochaska and Diclemente transtheorical model in their particular stage of readiness for identification and management of these conditions. RESULTS: The sample included 60 health professionals. Before training, clinicians had adequate knowledge of depression and its treatment (8.1 ± 1.66), but not on the mhGAP model and/or suicide risk management, which increased by the end of training (mhGAPpre:7.91 ± 2.19 vs. mhGAPpost:8.77 ± 1.34, p = 0.01; SuicidePRE:29.16 ± 9.35 vs. SuicidePOST:39.24 ± 6.83, p = 0.0001). Before training, most clinicians were at the contemplation stage (42.6% vs. 37.7% at the action and 19.7% at the precontemplation stage). By the end of the training, a decrease in the number of clinicians at both the contemplation and precontemplation stages (to 36.1% and to zero, respectively) and a significant increase of clinicians at the action stage (to 63.9%) was observed. CONCLUSIONS: A training course based on the WHO-mhGAP could be an effective tool for increasing PC clinicians' willingness to implement mental health services.
