School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2012 Jun;21(3):266-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2012.00818.x.
Life expectancy in members of the general population has steadily improved in most countries since 1960. However, during the same period, the life expectancy of people with serious mental illness (SMI) has actually reduced. The majority of premature deaths result from natural causes, such as coronary heart disease. Obesity, a key risk factor for heart disease in this client group, might be caused both by unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and the side-effects of antipsychotic medication. Mental health nurses (MHN) nurses have an important role to play in improving the physical health of people with SMI. Evidence, however, suggests that they are often ambivalent about this role, and might perceive themselves as being inadequately trained and lacking in confidence. In this paper, we will argue that MHN need to re-evaluate their practice and recognize that the provision of physical health care is as important as other roles they occupy in relation to the care of people with SMI. We will also consider examples of best practice in physical health care, and discuss how these might be adopted by MHN and other professionals, in order to begin to improve services and to reduce health inequalities in this client group.
自 1960 年以来，大多数国家的普通人群的预期寿命稳步提高。然而，在同一时期，严重精神疾病（SMI）患者的预期寿命实际上有所下降。大多数过早死亡是由于自然原因造成的，如冠心病。肥胖是该人群患心脏病的一个关键风险因素，可能是由不健康的生活方式行为和抗精神病药物的副作用共同导致的。精神健康护士（MHN）在改善 SMI 患者的身体健康方面发挥着重要作用。然而，有证据表明，他们对这一角色常常持矛盾态度，可能认为自己接受的培训不足，缺乏信心。在本文中，我们将认为 MHN 需要重新评估他们的实践，并认识到提供身体健康护理与他们在 SMI 患者护理方面所扮演的其他角色一样重要。我们还将考虑身体健康护理方面的最佳实践示例，并讨论 MHN 和其他专业人员如何采用这些示例，以开始改善服务并减少该人群的健康不平等。
