Fundamentals of Mental Health

Fundamentals of Mental Health

Investigating the educational needs of addiction practitioners in Mashhad city, Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Mohammad Sadeghi Bimargh 1
Mehri Yavari 2
Ali Emadzadeh 3
Fatemeh Sharifan 4
Mahdieh Borhani Moghani 5
1 M.Sc. in medical education, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2 Instructor, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Assistant professor, Department of medical education, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4 M.Sc. student in medical education, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
5 General physician, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
10.22038/jfmh.2018.13420
Abstract
Introduction: The concept of need is one of the most widely used terms in various social sciences. One of these needs in terms of science and education is educational need. This research conducted to investigate the educational needs of addiction practitioners (physicians and psychologists) in Mashhad city (the second populous city of Iran).
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 100 addiction practitioners (physicians and psychologists) working in hospitals and addiction treatment centers in Mashhad in 2017 were selected randomly. The research tool was a 27-items researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16, descriptive and inferential tests such as Friedman test, and T test.
 Results: According to the results, 54.6% of the participants were physicians and 45.4% were psychologists. The most common educational needs of participants were "risk assessment knowledge and identification of psychiatric and addiction emergencies" with 4.2%, and the minimum training need was "knowledge of traditional medicine, recognition and use of herbal medicines for substance abuse treatment" with 3.22%. The first educational need of physicians was "knowledge about the pharmacology of maintenance and withdrawal medicines" with 18.65% and the first need for psychologists was "the skills of conducting interviews and psychological counseling for the families of patients with substance abuse" with 18.33%.
Conclusion: Comparing the scores of educational needs showed that the scores of physicians' educational needs did not differ much from the scores of psychologists' educational needs at the descriptive level. Still, the prioritization of the educational needs of physicians and psychologists is different.
Keywords
Addiction
Educational needs
Practitioner
Subjects
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Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 21, Issue 1
January and February 2019
Pages 53-59