title: [Patient therapeutic education in psychiatry. A survey of practice in Aquitaine public hospitals].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study were to assess the characteristics of therapeutic education practice in French public psychiatric hospitals and to describe the ongoing patient education programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted an online survey. Adult and child psychiatrists (n=264) of Aquitaine's public hospitals (n=9) were asked to describe their daily educational practice using an internet questionnaire. Coordinators of patient education programs were invited to complete a specific questionnaire describing these programs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 264 psychiatrists contacted, 95 participated in the only survey (participation rate 36%), 85.7% were adult psychiatrists and 14.3% child psychiatrists. Most psychiatrists (85% or more) "always or often" educated their patients on the disease (name, etiology, symptoms), its treatment and the prevention of relapses and complications. Other mental health professionals, such as nurses, were rarely involved in this educational process. Less than a quarter of the psychiatrists "always or often" invited their patients to participate in a structured patient education program. Twelve education programs were described by their coordinators (13.6% of the participants). Compared to non-coordinators, coordinators had graduated significantly more frequently less than 10years before (92% vs. 49%) but did not differ regarding other characteristics. Bipolar disorder (n=4) and schizophrenia (n=7) were the most frequent indications of these programs. Half of the programs were distributed by pharmaceutical companies. Almost half (45%) of the programs were opened to patient's carers and relatives. Increase in knowledge and competence were evaluated in 73% of the programs, and satisfaction in 64% of the programs. These findings have to be interpretated in the light of a possible selection bias favouring the participation of practitioners supporting or actively implicated in patient education, contributing to inflated estimates of the real frequency of educational practice in public psychiatric hospitals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On the one hand, our study shows a strong involvement of psychiatrists in patient therapeutic education in daily practice. On the other hand, very few structured programs were ongoing, mostly concerning bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, i.e. disorders for which evidence of efficiency of patient education has been demonstrated. These findings suggest that implementation of further patient education programs should be encouraged and that formation of further professionals is a priority.
authors.affiliation: Centre hospitalier de Colson, 97261 Fort-de-France cedex, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cadiot
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Verdoux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000628:therapy; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry; D003625:Data Collection; D004494:Education Department, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires