BACKGROUND: Stress management delivered to groups of psychologically stressed patients effectively decreases their distress. This study investigated the effects of stress management delivered by Australian general practitioners. METHOD: In a pilot randomised controlled trial, stress management was provided to a group of 11 patients whose outcomes were compared with another six patients acting as wait listed controls. Standard psychological questionnaires were administered before the course and 1 week and 2 months after. RESULTS: At 1 week there were significant improvements in intervention group scores compared to controls in two out of 6 measures: the Positive and Negative Affect Scales. At 2 months there was only one significant improvement (brief disability days). There were no significant differences in the Kessler 10, self rated stress levels or brief disability score. DISCUSSION: Group stress management delivered by GPs may help distressed patients and should be further investigated for effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Mental health services
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Mental health
UTAS Author:	Malcolm, HE (Dr Helen Malcolm)
ID Code:	49538
Year Published:	2007
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	UTAS Centre for Rural Health
Deposited On:	2007-08-01
Last Modified:	2008-04-02
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