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BMC Psychiatry 2012
Prevention of anxiety disorders in primary care: A feasibility studyKeywords: Anxiety disorders, Prevention, Public Mental Health, Screening Abstract: In three general practices, screening was offered to individuals visiting their general practitioner (total n?=?2454). To assess risk status, a 10-item questionnaire was followed by a telephone interview (including the CIDI) when scoring above a predefined threshold. Preventive services were offered to those at risk. Participation rates for screening and preventive services for anxiety disorders were assessed. Those not willing to be screened were asked for their main reason to refrain from screening.Of all individuals, 17.3% participated in initial screening, and of those with a possible risk status, 56.0% continued screening. In 30.1% of those assessed, a risk status to develop an anxiety disorder was verified. Of these, 22.6% already received some form of mental health treatment and 38.7% of them agreed to participate in a preventive intervention and were referred. The most frequently mentioned reasons to refrain from screening were the emotional burden associated with elevated risk status, the assumption not to be at risk, and a lack of motivation to act upon an elevated risk status by using preventive services.Screening in general practice, followed by offering services to prevent anxiety disorders in those at risk did not appear to be a feasible strategy due to low participation rates. To enable the development of feasible and cost-effective preventive strategies, exploring the reasons of low participation rates, considering involving general practitioners in preventive strategies, and looking at preventive strategies in somatic health care with proven feasibility may be helpful.Anxiety disorders are prevalent, often have a chronic course, and are associated with functional limitations. Given these features, preventing the development of anxiety disorders seems a good strategy. Hence, screening of individuals on risk factors and early stages of the disorder offers the opportunity to provide preventive interventions, and thereby limit the disease burden for bot
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