Background

Previous research suggests that the detection rates of Generalised Anxiety Disorders (GAD) in primary health care are low.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to assess the rate of detecting Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in a family medicine clinic in Jordan and to investigate physicians’ characteristics, which might predict this rate.

Material and methods

This was a cross-sectional study. The sample was composed of 126 patients diagnosed as having GAD. Medical records of the patients were reviewed to determine the resident physician who provided service to each patient and whether a diagnosis of GAD was considered. 15 treating physi-cians at different levels of vocational training were blindly included. The study explored the relationship between physicians’ characteristics and the detec-tion of GAD.

Results

The total rate of recognition of GAD was 13.5%. Of the studied physicians, having taken extracurricular psychiatry courses increased the ability to diagnose GAD with an odds ratio of 3.10 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.09–8.81. Physicians in their third and fourth year of residency (seniors) were less likely to diagnose GAD than first and second year physicians (juniors), with an odds ratio of 0.28 and a confidence interval of 0.10–0.82.

Conclusions

The detection rate of GAD by physicians in primary health care in Jordan is low. The importance of additional training regarding mental health issues in primary care needs to be highlighted.