Identifying patients with psychosocial problems in general practice: a scoping review

Rosemarie Schwenker, Tobias Deutsch, Susanne Unverzagt, Thomas Frese

Keywords: general practice, psychosocial problems, scoping review

Background:
Psychosocial problems are common phenomena associated with negative health outcomes. As they manifest in heterogeneous and complex forms, they pose major challenges on GPs in their daily practice. Specific tools that are supportive and feasible in daily routine and that capture a broad range of psychosocial problems at once can help optimise the organisation of GP practice by providing guidance to general practice professionals at an early stage of care.

Research questions:
What is known about the usage of instruments to identify patients with psychosocial problems in general practice?

Method:
We conduct a scoping review by following the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer’s Manual. A protocol has been registered with Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/c2m6z, and published in BMJ Open, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051383. A systematic search of four electronic databases (Medline [Ovid], Web of Science Core Collection, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library) was conducted for quantitative and qualitative studies published in English, Spanish, French and German without time restriction.

Results:
A total of 637 titles and abstracts were screened. 91 articles were subjected to a full-text review and a final 50 studies were considered eligible for inclusion in the review from which relevant information was extracted. Data analysis and synthesis is currently underway. At the EGPRN meeting, we will present the overall results of our scoping review as well as details of the included studies in terms of population, context and concept.

Conclusions:
The aim of our review is to comprehensively examine the published research on tools used in general practice to identify patients with psychosocial problems. Our review addresses a topic of great public health importance, as early and structured identification not only benefits patients, but also optimise the work of general practice professionals. Bringing the results together will help to provide an overview of the evidence and identify knowledge gaps, which will give direction for further research activities.

Points for discussion:
What experience has been gained with specific tools for identifying patients with psychosocial problems?

What (further) support is needed for general practice professionals?