Appropriate help-seeking is widely recognized as a protective factor, and vital for early treatment and prevention of mental health problems during adolescence. General medical practitioners (GPs), that is, family doctors, provide a vital role in the identification of adolescents with mental health problems and the provision of treatment as well as access to other specialists in mental health care services. The current study examined the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal thoughts, emotional problems and physical health problems, using a sample of 590 Australian high school students that was 56.7% female and aged 13-18 years (M = 15.56 years, SD = .66 years). Higher levels of suicidal ideation and general psychological distress were related to lower intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal and physical problems. The results suggest that even at subclinical levels, increases in suicidal ideation or psychological distress may lead to help avoidance. School personnel and other gatekeepers need to be aware of this trend in order to be more assertive in encouraging and supporting appropriate help-seeking for mental health problems. School health promotion programs should consider including information to explicitly address the help-negation process.

The Building Bridges to General Practice (BBGP) program is an outreach initiative. It aims to reduce young peoples’ perceived knowledge- and belief-based barriers to engaging in treatment and to increase their behavioral intentions to consult a general medical practitioner (GP) for physical and psychological problems. By increasing intentions, the BBGP program aims to increase actual consultations with a GP for both types of problem. A quasi-experimental nested design was used to evaluate the effect of the intervention in three Australian high schools. A Treatment group (n = 173, M = 16 years) and Comparison group (n = 118, M = 15 years) completed questionnaires of perceived barriers, intentions and self-reported consultations with a GP. Questionnaires were completed 1 week before the intervention, 5 then 10 weeks post-intervention. The Treatment group, but not the Comparison group, showed reductions in perceived barriers over time, increased intentions to consult a GP for psychological problems and a significant correlation between intentions and subsequent GP consultations. Results support the utility of the intervention for improving adolescents’ beliefs, intentions and behavior related to consulting a GP for physical and psychological problems.

The objectives of this study were to determine general practitioners' (GPs) intentions to seek help for drug and alcohol problems and persistent suicidal thoughts, as well as their preferred sources of help. A postal survey of all GPs in the Illawarra region of New South Wales was conducted. One hundred and thirty-six GPs completed the questionnaire. Participants indicated they were most likely to seek help for drug and alcohol problems from a GP, the NSW Doctors' Health Advisory Service, family, or friends. GPs with persistent suicidal thoughts were most likely to seek help from a psychiatrist, GP, or family. GPs reported greater intentions to seek help from psychiatrists, psychologists, phone help-lines and family for persistent suicidal thoughts compared to drug and alcohol problems. However, as depression increased, intentions to seek help from GPs and family decreased. Family and other GPs were preferred sources of help for both types of problem described in this study. GP spouses often experience high levels of burden for caring for children, their GP spouse, and at times the practice itself. The importance of GPs' spouses suggests they should be included in any programs aimed at strengthening the helping support systems for GPs. It may also be useful to educate GPs generally about how to work with colleagues who are seeking help, and the sorts of barriers they may experience in doing so.

This communication describes a functioning model that permits access to an electronic health record across a small number of providers resident in an Australian regional setting. Design criteria designated that provider access rights were to be assignable, revokable, transportable, and informable.