Professional values and educational needs in mental health professionals: survey results

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exploring the professional values and educational needs of future and practicing mental health specialists is required to develop effective measures aiming at improving their skills and interest in their work. AIM: Our aim was to explore professional values and educational needs of mental health specialists in Russia. METHODS: We conducted a survey that captured socio-demographic data, professional characteristics, professional values, and educational needs. Fisher's exact test, logistic regression, and the k-means cluster analysis were used in our statistical analysis. RESULTS: The survey included 133 participants, 71% of whom had completed their postgraduate education. The following items were mentioned as important professional values by the respondents: Job opportunities, Stimulation of intellectual activity, and Work-life balance. The most popular options for educational activities were English language (63.4%), the principles of evidence-based medicine (63.4%), and developing skills for conducting scientific research (59.4%). In comparison with practicing specialists, respondents who had not yet completed their postgraduate education were more interested in developing their curriculum vitae (39% vs. 60%, p=0.044) and communication skills (49% vs. 77%, p=0.0048). Compared to male respondents, female respondents were more interested in developing skills in conducting scientific research (47 vs. 70%, p=0.0165). A cluster analysis showed that specialists who attached more importance to almost all professional values, in comparison to those who did not, were more interested in activities aimed at developing their research skills (64% vs. 41%, p=0.0287), learning about the principles of evidence-based medicine (70% vs. 41%, p=0.0063), and participating in journal clubs (39% vs. 11%, p=0.0193). CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that job opportunities, intellectual stimulation, and work-life balance are the most important professional values for future and practicing mental health specialists. These findings might be used as a basis for developing educational activities for mental health specialists.