Efficacy of Disseminating Educational Materials in General Practices

Abstract

Aims: This study investigated the effects of providing an educational manual (EM), advising general practitioners (GPs) on how to manage patients who may have problems with psychotropic prescription drug use on three process of care measures: assessment, referral and treatment. The length of time spent evaluating the EM was investigated as a moderator. Methods: A nationwide representative random sample of 1822 German GPs was assigned to an intervention (IG) or a control group (CG). The GPs in the CG were assessed after they were invited to participate, the GPs in the IG were assessed three months after the EMs were disseminated (participation rate 59.3 %). The associations between the process of care measures and the study groups were investigated using negative binomial regression analysis for 852 GPs. Results: No differences between the study groups were found. GPs who read through the EM for more than 30 minutes increased the expected number of referrals and treatment for patients with prescription drug dependence by 69.8 % and 47.6 % compared to the CG. Conclusion: Simple dissemination of EMs alone has been shown to be ineffective regarding process of care measures. It is likely that additional strategies are needed to influence the clinical practice of GPs.