Researchers examined how postgraduate psychiatric education programs for primary care providers (PCPs) affected knowledge and clinical skills in primary care-based psychiatry. Data for the study came from 251 PCPs who completed a one-year fellowship from 2016 through 2019. Participants were polled at baseline, midpoint and postfellowship on mental health stigma, perceived competency, attitudes about psychiatry, satisfaction with current psychiatric knowledge, confidence and comfort to treat psychiatric disorders and program satisfaction. Baseline, midpoint and postfellowship analyses of psychiatric knowledge were also conducted. According to the data, perceived competency/self-efficacy and confidence in the treatment of common psychiatric disorders encountered in primary care settings were significantly affected. Attitudes about mental health stigma, especially psychiatry clinical knowledge, improved. Postfellowship, there was a 12% improvement in knowledge, and there were correlations between the magnitude of change in attitude with improved psychiatric literacy related substantially to reduction of stigma total score, greater willingness and more positive attitudes. "Innovative initiatives to improve and expand psychiatric knowledge and clinical skills among those who provide the most behavioral healthcare can have marked impacts on attitudes toward mental health care delivery, stigma, and competency/self-efficacy," the authors conclude.

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