Physicians’ awareness towards forensic psychiatry, A survey of physicians who work in an iranian general hospital

Background: Forensic psychiatry has a main duty in applying medical, psychiatric, and legal information in enforcement of the criminal and civil law processes. In Iran, forensic psychiatry is a new and evolving branch of medicine and we aimed to assess the level of physicians’ knowledge towards it in Iran.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was performed on physicians working in Rasoul-e-Akram hospital in Tehran in 2015 by a predefined questionnaire which consisted of baseline information and the questions to assess knowledge towards professional responsibilities of forensic psychiatrists.

Results: Survey showed low level of knowledge among physicians. Only 41% of all physicians could answer correctly the role of forensic psychiatry. The level of knowledge was associated with their specialized education, but not with their demographics, the university or year of graduation.

Conclusion: Performing specific training schedules is essential among medical practitioners, since each may face criminal patients.