Objective: To examine the barriers and incentives that may exist for Australian general practitioners (GPs) to screen for and detect individuals at risk of developing schizophrenia and to participate in studies aimed at assessing screening procedures.
Method: Examination of literature, existing procedures in general practice, informed by experience in the GP Integration Support, Evaluation and Resource Unit during 1995-1999 and the General Practice Integration Research Programme and the reports arising from this.
Results: The attitudes and responses of GPs to research proposals and to working with researchers will be influenced by their overall relationship with mental health services. As the average GP will only have a small caseload of patients with schizophrenia, it is important to provide some incentive to encourage GP involvement in schizophrenia prevention studies. Key incentives include: the availability of specialist support from mental health practitioners; systems development in general practice; inclusion in the research team; and Quality Assurance points.
Conclusions: General practitioners have shown willingness to engage in a diversity of research projects, including mental health research. Divisions of General Practice are increasingly interested in evaluation and research and may be a useful entry point for approaching GPs as a group.