A qualitative study of primary health care access, barriers and satisfaction among people with mental illness

Research has found that a substantial proportion of individuals with mental illness have high morbidity and mortality rates, and high under-diagnosis of major physical illnesses. Furthermore, people with a mental illness tend not to seek out or utilise health care services. The reasons for the negative attitudes and behaviour towards health care services among this population have not been investigated. This paper presents findings from a study that investigated the health care service needs of people with mental illness (n = 20), and views from health care providers (n = 16) regarding access to these services by people with a mental illness. Results indicated that psychiatric patients identified a range of barriers to their health care usage and low levels of health care satisfaction. These views were shared with health care professionals. Reasons for these findings and strategies to address these problems so that there is better access to health care services for people with mental illness are discussed. <br /

Health behaviors among individuals with schizophrenia and depression

This article presents findings from a study that evaluated the utility of Protection Motivation Theory to explain cardiovascular health behaviors among people with schizophrenia (n = 83) and depression (n = 70). Results indicated that the prevalence of overweight, cigarette smoking and a sedentary lifestyle were greater among people with a mental illness compared to individuals without a mental illness. Major predictors were high levels of fear of cardiovascular disease, lack of knowledge of correct dietary principles, lower self-efficacy, limited social support and psychiatric symptoms. Implications of these results are discussed in designing education and preventive health programs for individuals with schizophrenia and Mental Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Exercise-, nature- and socially interactive-based initiatives improve mood and self-esteem in the clinical population

Aims: This study evaluated two existing group-based health promotion initiatives (a social club and a swimming group) and compared these to a new green exercise programme (weekly countryside and urban park walks). Methods: Participants represented a clinical population ( N = 53) and were all experiencing a range of mental health problems. They only attended one of the three programmes and sessions were held once a week for six weeks in all initiatives. Composite questionnaires incorporating two standardized measures to analyse changes in self-esteem and mood were completed before and after all sessions. Results: A significant main effect for self-esteem and mood pre and post activity ( p &lt; 0.001) was reported after participating in a single session. The change in self-esteem was significantly greater in the green exercise group compared with the social activities club ( p &lt; 0.001). Dose responses showed that both self-esteem and mood levels improved over the six-week period and improvements were related to attendance in the green exercise group. Conclusions: Green exercise as a health-promoting initiative for people experiencing mental ill health is equally as effective as existing programmes. Combining exercise, nature and social components in future initiatives may play a key role in managing and supporting recovery from mental ill health, suggesting a potential ‘green’ approach to mental healthcare and promotion. </jats:p