Abstract
Objective
Integrated behavioral health (IBH) allows for effective care delivery for patients with mental health and behavioral health disorders in primary care settings. This study assesses the state of exposure current medical students have to the IBH model in family medicine clerkships, in order to augment the readiness of students to participate in IBH as developing professionals.
Methods
Clerkship directors at US and Canadian medical schools with a required family medicine run course (n = 141) were asked to estimate the percentage of students exposed to IBH in their clerkships, as part of the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) 2016 survey.
Results
The response rate was 86% (n = 118). Forty-four percent of clerkship directors reported that 0–20% of students are exposed to the IBH model in their clerkships. A comparison of schools with low and high exposure showed no significant differences among clerkship characteristics.
Conclusions
A majority of medical students in the USA and Canada are not exposed to IBH models during their primary care clerkship. Larger systematic studies are needed to elucidate the steps necessary to prepare graduating medical students to collaborate in IBH models.
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Funding
The project described was supported by HRSA-6 UHIHP29964-01-01 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Health Resources and Services Administration or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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The study was approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Review Board of the University of Pennsylvania.
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There are no conflicts of interest.
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Choi, R.J., Betancourt, R.M., DeMarco, M.P. et al. Medical Student Exposure to Integrated Behavioral Health. Acad Psychiatry 43, 191–195 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-018-0936-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-018-0936-0