Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.
Independent Researcher, Clackmannan, UK.
Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2022 Dec;17(1):2122135. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2022.2122135.
People with severe mental ill-health (SMI) experience profound health inequalities. The Optimizing Wellbeing in Self-isolation study (OWLS) explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on people with SMI, including how and why their physical and mental health may have changed during the pandemic.
The OLWS study comprised two surveys and two nested qualitative studies. Of 367 people recruited to the study, 235 expressed interest in taking part in a qualitative interview. In the first qualitative study eighteen interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of participants.
We identified six factors which influenced peoples' health, positively and negatively: Staying Physically Active; Maintaining a Balanced and Healthy Diet; Work or Not Working; Daily Routine and Good Sleep; Staying Connected to Family, Friends and the Local Community; and Habits, Addictions and Coping with Anxiety Created by the Pandemic.
Different aspects of lifestyle are highly interconnected. For people with SMI, loss of routine and good sleep, poor diet and lack of exercise can compound each other, leading to a decline in physical and mental health. If people are supported to understand what helps them stay well, they can establish their own frameworks to draw on during difficult times.
患有严重精神疾病的人（SMI）经历着深刻的健康不平等。优化自我隔离中的幸福感研究（OWLS）探讨了 COVID-19 大流行限制对患有 SMI 的人的影响，包括他们的身心健康在大流行期间如何以及为何发生变化。
OWLS 研究包括两项调查和两项嵌套的定性研究。在招募的 367 名研究对象中，有 235 人表示有兴趣参加定性访谈。在第一项定性研究中，对一个有目的的参与者样本进行了十八次访谈。
我们确定了六个积极和消极影响人们健康的因素：保持身体活跃；保持均衡健康的饮食；工作或不工作；日常作息和良好睡眠；与家人、朋友和当地社区保持联系；以及因大流行而产生的习惯、成瘾和焦虑应对。
生活方式的不同方面高度相互关联。对于患有 SMI 的人来说，日常生活和良好睡眠的丧失、不良饮食和缺乏锻炼会相互影响，导致身心健康状况恶化。如果支持人们了解有助于保持健康的因素，他们可以建立自己的框架，以便在困难时期参考。
