Training pediatric residents and pediatricians about adolescent mental health problems: a proof-of-concept pilot for a proposed national curriculum.

Objective: This article presents a DVD-based educational program intended to help pediatric residents and practicing pediatricians recognize and respond to adolescent depression in busy primary care settings.

Methods: Representatives from pediatrics and adolescent medicine, child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology, and experts in the creation of educational mental health programs met to design a multimedia approach to improving the mental health diagnostic skills among pediatric residents. The authors chose depression as the initial topic because of its relatively high prevalence among children and adolescents, and evidence suggesting that pediatricians may have difficulty diagnosing this disorder in the primary care setting. The authors created a 30-minute DVD program featuring depressed adolescents and experts in child psychiatry and adolescent medicine. After viewing the DVD, residents in the training program, as well as practicing pediatricians, completed a standardized survey to assess the usefulness and attractiveness of this approach to pediatric education.

Results: The survey results support the potential value of this type of material and the feasibility of similar programs in addressing an array of mental health concerns in pediatric residencies. Participants found the program useful and indicated interest in receiving more educational programs in this format.

Conclusion: The authors suggest that the relative ease with which initiatives such as this media-based approach can be implemented make this educational technique appropriate and feasible on a large scale for programs throughout the nation and for a variety of mental health concerns.