Association Between Participant Satisfaction and Self-Reported Clinical Practice Behaviors in a Nationwide Guideline Education Program.

Abstract

Background: Educational interventions are widely used to promote guideline-concordant psychiatric practice. However, it remains unclear whether participants' subjective satisfaction translates into actual changes in clinical behavior (CB). This study examined the association between subjective assessment (SA) scores of the EGUIDE training programs for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) and CB.

Methods: In this multicenter observational study, we analyzed data from psychiatrists who participated in the EGUIDE training program. SA scores were obtained immediately after training using standardized questionnaires assessing satisfaction with program content, knowledge, skills, and future clinical intentions. CB was evaluated using self-report measures of guideline-concordant practice in general, schizophrenia-specific, and MDD-specific domains. Associations between SA and CB scores were examined using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients.

Results: A total of 1399 psychiatrists were included in the analysis. The comprehensive SA score showed a significant positive correlation with the comprehensive CB score (r = 0.19, p < 0.001). Likewise, schizophrenia- and MDD-specific SA scores were positively correlated with all CB domains, including general guideline use and disorder-specific practices (ρ = 0.14-0.19, all p < 0.001). Although effect sizes were small, the associations were consistent across disorders and clinical domains.

Conclusions: Higher satisfaction with guideline-based educational programs was associated with greater self-reported guideline-concordant CBs, suggesting that positive educational experiences may support improvements in psychiatric practice at the national level.