ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2009
'A coal face option': GPs' perspectives on the rise in antidepressant prescribing.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Managing depression in primary care: A meta-synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research from the UK to identify barriers and facilitators.BMC family practice · 2011Pooled it
- Should We Just Prescribe? Ethical Considerations When Using Antidepressants and Benzodiazepines For Emotional Distress.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2025Article
- Swiss GPs' preferences for antidepressant treatment in mild depression: vignette-based quantitative analysis.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Attitudes and behaviour towards psychotropic drug prescribing in Swedish primary care: a questionnaire study.BMC family practice · 2019Article
- Delivering a primary care-based social prescribing initiative: a qualitative study of the benefits and challenges.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Article
- 'Doing the right thing': factors influencing GP prescribing of antidepressants and prescribed doses.BMC family practice · 2017Article
- Article
- Monitoring patients on chronic treatment with antidepressants between 2003 and 2011: analysis of factors associated with compliance.BMC public health · 2015Article
- Explaining the variation between practices in the duration of new antidepressant treatment: a database cohort study in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2015Article
- The Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM): integrating the social dimensions of health into primary care.Journal of comorbidity · 2015Article
- Patient factors associated with SSRI dose for depression treatment in general practice: a primary care cross sectional study.BMC family practice · 2014Article
- What is depression? Psychiatrists' and GPs' experiences of diagnosis and the diagnostic process.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2014Article
- "A powerful intervention: general practitioners'; use of sickness certification in depression".BMC family practice · 2012Article
- Factors associated with duration of new antidepressant treatment: analysis of a large primary care database.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2012Article
- Can a self-referral system help improve access to psychological treatments?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2010Article
- Why do GPs prescribe psychotropic drugs when they would rather provide alternative psychological interventions?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2010Article
- Reasons to be cheerful? Reflections on GPs' responses to depression.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
- Appropriateness of antidepressant prescribing: an observational study in a Scottish primary-care setting.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
- Improving access to psychological therapies: implications for mental health care in general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
- Commentary: GPs' views on their handling of depression.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLevels of antidepressant prescribing have dramatically increased in Western countries in the last two decades.
aimTo explore GPs' views about, and explanations for, the increase in antidepressant prescribing in Scotland between 1995 and 2004.
designQualitative, interview study.
settingGeneral practices, Scotland.
participantsGPs in 30 practices (n = 63) purposively selected to reflect a range of practice characteristics and levels of antidepressant prescribing.
methodInterviews with GPs were taped and transcribed. Analysis followed a Framework Approach.
resultsGPs offered a range of explanations for the rise in antidepressant prescribing in Scotland. Few doctors thought that the incidence of depression had increased, and many questioned the appropriateness of current levels of prescribing. A number of related factors were considered to have contributed to the increase. These included: the success of campaigns to raise awareness of depression; a willingness among patients to seek help; and the perceived safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, making it easier for GPs to manage depression in primary care. Many GPs believed that unhappiness, exacerbated by social deprivation and the breakdown of traditional social structures, was being 'medicalised' inappropriately.
conclusionMost antidepressant prescriptions in Scotland are issued by GPs, and current policy aims to reduce levels of prescribing. To meet this aim, GPs' prescribing behaviour needs to change. The findings suggest that GPs see themselves as responders to, rather than facilitators of, change and this has obvious implications for initiatives to reduce prescribing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.