scholarly journals A 12-week healthy living programme piloted in community mental health – is it feasible and what is achievable?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 376
Author(s):  
Amanda Wheeler ◽  
Samantha Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Healthy Living ◽  
Healthy Living Programme

The physical health outcomes of people with mental illness are significantly poorer compared to the normal population. The aims of this study were to (i) assess the feasibility and outcomes of a 12-week healthy living programme piloted in a community adult mental health setting and (ii) assess the lead author’s research and evaluation competency as part of the conditions of the Psychology Supervised Practice Programme. Participants were referred to the programme to learn and develop healthy living skills, assist in weight management, and enhance emotional wellbeing.  The programme included weekly educational sessions followed by an activity related to the education for 3-4 hours, between June-September 2010. The programme facilitators completed assessments with participants at Week 1 (baseline) and Week 12 (graduation) including; demographic and physical health indicators (e.g. weight, BMI, blood pressure), psychological wellbeing and overall satisfaction with programme. Seventeen participants commenced the healthy living programme pilot. There was an average weekly attendance of eleven people and nine graduated at Week 12. No meaningful change in physical health or psychological wellbeing could be determined from the measurements at 12 weeks however the graduates rated the programme highly, particularly the social perspective and healthy eating skills. This feasibility assessment of the HLP pilot illustrates the difficulties inherent in real-world service-based research but also highlights the potential benefits for future replication of the HLP for enhancing both physical health and quality of life for people with a serious mental illness. Key words: physical health, community mental health, healthy living, evaluation, group programme

Metabolic Syndrome Screening in People With Severe Mental Illness: Results From Two Spanish Community Mental Health Centers

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Fernández Guijarro ◽  
Carolina Miguel García ◽  
Edith Pomarol-Clotet ◽  
Elena Nunilón Egea López ◽  
Maria Dolors Burjales Martí ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Health Centers ◽  
Community Mental Health Centers ◽  
Mental Health Centers

BACKGROUND: The excess of mortality in people with severe mental illness is due to unnatural causes such as accidents or suicides and natural causes such as metabolic syndrome. The presence of modifiable risk factors like tobacco consumption increases cardiovascular and metabolic risk. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and other cardiovascular risk factors in people with severe mental illness. This study also aimed to identify the prevalence of patients receiving treatment for any metabolic syndrome risk factor. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. A total of 125 participants from two community mental health centers in Spain were recruited. RESULTS: More than half of the participants (58.4%) were active smokers. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 60%. A total of 16.8% received previous treatment for hypertension, 17.6% for hypertriglyceridemia, and 11.2% for diabetes. No differences were found between centers (22.7% vs. 18.7%, p = .9). CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the importance of monitoring the physical health of patients on antipsychotic therapy. The identification and management of cardiovascular and metabolic risks factors is an essential part of nursing care for people with severe mental illness. Mental health nurses are ideally positioned to carry out this task by performing physical health screening, health education, and lifestyle interventions.

The health service contact patterns of people with psychotic and non-psychotic forms of severe mental illness in New South Wales, Australia: A record-linkage study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110314
Author(s):  
Rachael C Cvejic ◽  
Preeyaporn Srasuebkul ◽  
Adrian R Walker ◽  
Simone Reppermund ◽  
Julia M Lappin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
New South ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
South Wales

Objective: To describe and compare the health profiles and health service use of people hospitalised with severe mental illness, with and without psychotic symptoms. Methods: We conducted a historical cohort study using linked administrative datasets, including data on public hospital admissions, emergency department presentations and ambulatory mental health service contacts in New South Wales, Australia. The study cohort comprised 169,306 individuals aged 12 years and over who were hospitalised at least once with a mental health diagnosis between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2014. Of these, 63,110 had a recorded psychotic illness and 106,196 did not. Outcome measures were rates of hospital, emergency department and mental health ambulatory service utilisation, analysed using Poisson regression. Results: People with psychotic illnesses had higher rates of hospital admission (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.26; 95% confidence interval [1.23, 1.30]), emergency department presentation (adjusted IRR 1.17; 95% confidence interval [1.13, 1.20]) and ambulatory mental health treatment days (adjusted IRR 2.90; 95% confidence interval [2.82, 2.98]) than people without psychotic illnesses. The higher rate of hospitalisation among people with psychotic illnesses was driven by mental health admissions; while people with psychosis had over twice the rate of mental health admissions, people with other severe mental illnesses without psychosis (e.g. mood/affective, anxiety and personality disorders) had higher rates of physical health admissions, including for circulatory, musculoskeletal, genitourinary and respiratory disorders. Factors that predicted greater health service utilisation included psychosis, intellectual disability, greater medical comorbidity and previous hospitalisation. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the need for (a) the development of processes to support the physical health of people with severe mental illness, including those without psychosis; (b) a focus in mental health policy and service provision on people with complex support needs, and (c) improved implementation and testing of integrated models of care to improve health outcomes for all people experiencing severe mental illness.

Monitoring the physical health of individuals with serious mental illness

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-115
Author(s):  
Majella Cahill ◽  
Anne Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Psychiatric Service ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Effective Models

AbstractDeveloping effective models of identifying and managing physical ill health amongst mental health service users has become an increasing concern for psychiatric service providers. This article sets out the general professional and Irish statutory obligations to provide physical health monitoring services for individuals with serious mental illness. Review and summary statements are provided in relation to the currently available guidelines on physical health monitoring.

scholarly journals Holistic Health: Does It Really Include Mental Health?

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 2092-2099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly K. McClanahan ◽  
Marlene B. Huff ◽  
Hatim A. Omar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Holistic Health ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
The U.S

Holistic health, incorporating mind and body as equally important and unified components of health, is a concept utilized in some health care arenas in the United States (U.S.) over the past 30 years. However, in the U.S., mental health is not seen as conceptually integral to physical health and, thus, holistic health cannot be realized until the historical concept of mind-body dualism, continuing stigma regarding mental illness, lack of mental health parity in insurance, and inaccurate public perceptions regarding mental illness are adequately addressed and resolved. Until then, mental and physical health will continue to be viewed as disparate entities rather than parts of a unified whole. We conclude that the U.S. currently does not generally incorporate the tenets of holistic health in its view of the mental and physical health of its citizens, and provide some suggestions for changing that viewpoint.

scholarly journals Heard, known and safe in general practice? An interview study with patients with severe and persistent mental illness

BJGP Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. BJGPO.2021.0201
Author(s):  
Nancy Jennifer Sturman ◽  
Ryan Williams ◽  
Marianne Wyder ◽  
Johanna Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health Clinics

BackgroundAlthough GPs provide care to many patients with severe and persistent mental illness, the role and skillset of the GP in this space are contested. Patients are less satisfied with GP care of mental health than physical health issues.AimTo explore patient expectations and experiences of GP roles in their mental health, and identify opportunities for improving mental health care in general practice.Design & settingPatient participants were recruited from community mental health clinics in Brisbane, Australia.MethodIndividual semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of patients. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed professionally. The authors conducted an inductive thematic analysis, attending to participant vulnerability and reflexivity.Results16 interviews were conducted by one author (RW), average duration 29 minutes. Three overarching themes were identified: being heard; being known; and being safe. Participants greatly valued ‘good GPs’ who were able to detect early signs of relapse, and with whom they came to feel heard, known and safe over time. Experiences of perfunctory, hurried care and avoidance of mental health issues were also reported. Many participants were uncertain whether GP training in mental health was sufficient to keep them safe. Patients may suspect negative attitudes to mental illness in GPs who actively engage predominantly with their physical health.ConclusionSome GPs play central roles in patients’ mental healthcare. Barriers for others need further exploration, and may include time, confidence and/or expertise. Findings challenge GPs to engage more actively and effectively with these patients in theirgeneral practice consultations.

The future of specialist community teams in the care of those with severe mental illness

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tyrer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Crisis Resolution ◽  
Crisis Resolution Teams

SummaryAims – Specialist interventions in community psychiatry for severe mental illness are expanding and their place needs to be re-examined. Methods – Recent literature is reviewed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of specialist teams. Results – Good community mental health services reduce drop out from care, prevent suicide and unnatural deaths, and reduce admission to hospital. Most of these features have been also demonstrated by assertive community outreach and crisis resolution teams when good community services are not available. In well established community services assertive community teams do not reduce admission but both practitioners and patients prefer this service to other approaches and it leads to better engagement. Crisis resolution teams appear to be more successful than assertive community teams in preventing admission to hospital, although head- to-head comparisons have not yet been made. All specialist teams have the potential of fragmenting services and thereby reducing continuity of care. Conclusions – The assets of improved engagement and greater satisfaction with assertive, crisis resolution and home treatment teams are clear from recent evidence, but to improve integration of services they are probably best incorporated into community mental health services rather than standing alone.Declaration of Interest: The author has been the sole consultant in two assertive outreach teams since 1994 and might there- fore be expected to be in favour of this genre of service. He has received grants for evaluation of different services models from the Department of Health (UK) and the Medical Research Council (UK).

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