Participation in Project ECHO to advance rural primary care providers' ability to address patient mental health needs

• Published in: Medical education online Vol. 28; no. 1; p. 2164470
• Main Authors: Panjwani, Sonya, Porto, Ariel, Motz, Rosemary, Morris, Maximillian, Grzejszczak, Lynsey, Dimartino, Anthony, Ashley, Karen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.12.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Adult; adult psychiatry; Analysis of covariance; Best practice; Continuing education; COVID-19; Health behavior; Health needs; Humans; Medical education; Medical personnel; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Pandemics; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Project ECHO; Psychiatry; Rural areas; Rural communities; Rural Population; rural primary care; Self-efficacy; United States; United States; United States > US; Continuing education; adult psychiatry; Project ECHO; rural primary care; mental health
• ISSN: 1087-2981; 1087-2981
• DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2022.2164470

The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the burden of behavioral health conditions prevalent in the United States (U.S.). Consequently, there is a behavioral healthcare provider shortage, particularly in rural areas, to support this need. Recently, primary care providers (PCPs) have shifted to incorporate behavioral health to their practice. However, many PCPs lack knowledge and skills to successfully manage their patients' behavioral health conditions. In response to the need for effective behavioral healthcare across the U.S. Weitzman ECHO launched the Advanced Primary Care (APC ECHO) Adult Psychiatry Module to provide continuing education (CE) for rural PCPs. This study presents the results from the APC ECHO pilot to demonstrate how CE can support PCPs in addressing their patients' mental health needs. Evaluators used a one-group repeated measures study design to assess the APC ECHO Module and understand learner outcomes and individual practice changes. Participant characteristics and individual practice changes were summarized using descriptive statistics, with support from open-ended responses to illustrate findings. Repeated measures analyses of covariance were applied to compare the differences in pre- and post-module learner outcomes. A total of 18 providers participated in the study, with the majority encompassing medical providers (72.2%). There was a significant increase in knowledge (pre-module: 21.11 + 6.99; post-module: 25.08 + 5.66; p < .01), self-efficacy (pre-module: 6.89 + 3.05; post-module: 9.78 + 3.25; p < .01), and skills (pre-module: 7.67 + 4.03; post-module: 10.06 + 3.23; p < .05) gained over the duration of the ECHO module. Additionally, participants indicated they are applying best practices learned through the module to their patients experiencing psychiatric conditions (3.96 + 0.09). This study suggests that tailored CE for PCPs can promote an increase in knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills to apply best practices when treating patients with behavioral health conditions. This, in turn, allows patients to receive more comprehensive care and mitigates access barriers, especially for rural populations.