Geographic access to and availability of community resources for persons diagnosed with severe mental illness in Philadelphia, USA.

This study assesses whether there are differences in geographic access to and availability of a range of different amenities for a large group of persons diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI) in Philadelphia (USA) when compared to a more general set of residential addresses. The 15,246 persons who comprised the study group had better outcomes than an equal number of geographical points representative of the general Philadelphia population on measures of geographic proximity and availability for resources considered important by people diagnosed with SMI. These findings provide support for the presence of geographic prerequisites for attaining meaningful levels of community integration.