title: [General practitioners' attitude to prescription of psychopharmaceuticals. Autonomy versus paternalism, education and understanding of disease].
abstract: The object of this investigation was to illustrate the attitudes of general practitioners to prescription of psychotropic drugs and to mental illness. The qualitative research interview method was chosen as the method employed here. Fourteen general practitioners were interviewed while one did not wish to participate. A marked difference was found between the attitudes of the general practitioners to respect the autonomy of the patients or to act paternally. The paternal general practitioner could either prescribe psychotropic drugs on his own initiative or refuse prescription. General practitioners who respected autonomy were relatively restrictive in their prescribing habits so that respect for autonomy was by no means expression for free prescription of psychotropic drugs. Their goal was that the patient should be placed in a situation where he/she could choose and determine personally. The general practitioners considered that their undergraduate and postgraduate training in treating patients with mental illness was inadequate. Taking into consideration how frequently patients with conditions of this nature are seen in general practice, this must be regarded as a serious deficit in medical training. A number of general practitioners have, however, received postgraduate training in this subject. General practitioners did not consider patients who consulted them with mental conditions as mentally ill but they did not have an alternative disease model by which they could classify the problems and complaints of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Almen Medicin.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Husted
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003718:Denmark; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
vernacular_title: Praktiserende laegers holdning til pyskofarmakaordination. Autonomi versus paternalisme, uddannelse og sygdomsopfattelse.