title: Preparedness to accept psychiatric referral.
abstract: A survey of 312 patients attending 13 Sydney general practices suggested that preparedness to accept psychiatric referral by a general practitioner related most clearly to preparedness to consult the general practitioner in the first instance and the perceived likelihood of the general practitioner suggesting a psychological problem, while the sociodemographic characteristics of the patient did not appear of relevance. Data on actual psychiatric referrals by the contributing general practitioners suggested a higher psychiatric referral by practices in lower social class regions of Sydney and a differential referral pattern, with referral to a community psychiatric facility being rare in other than low social class general practices.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011570:Psychiatry; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012923:Social Class