Heinz Stefan Sebastian, O'Brien Anthony John, Parsons Matthew, Walker Cameron
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2025 Feb;34(1):e13489. doi: 10.1111/inm.13489.
Severe mental illness is linked to poor physical health and shorter life expectancy, yet research on how individuals experiencing mental illness view and on improve their physical health is limited. This study investigates the perceptions of individuals experiencing mental illness regarding their physical health, utilising a mixed-methods approach. Phase I involved quantitative and qualitative data from an online Qualtrics survey, which included the 12-item Short Form (SF-12) survey to measure participants' quality of life and assess self-reported physical and mental health. Key findings from Phase I revealed significant relationships between lower Physical Component Summary (PCS) scores and factors such as the frequency of GP visits. Additionally, exercise preferences were found to significantly impact Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores, with individuals who preferred a mix of exercise settings reporting higher MCS scores compared to those who exercised alone or with a training partner. Phase II explored these findings further through semi-structured interviews, where participants discussed themes including physical health perceptions, the role of medication and the importance of the general practitioner relationship. Thematic analysis revealed five main barriers to improving physical health: accessibility and availability of services, motivation, staff attitudes, medication side effects and the experience of diagnostic overshadowing. Participants reported viewing physical and mental health as interconnected and expressed a desire for more collaborative care. The results suggest that strengthening the relationship with GPs and increasing awareness of medication side effects may improve physical health outcomes for individuals experiencing mental illness. Mental health nurses can play a pivotal role in enhancing physical health outcomes by monitoring, supporting health-improving strategies and facilitating access to primary care services.
严重精神疾病与身体健康不佳和预期寿命较短有关，但关于患有精神疾病的个体如何看待并改善其身体健康的研究却很有限。本研究采用混合方法，调查了患有精神疾病的个体对其身体健康的看法。第一阶段涉及来自在线Qualtrics调查的定量和定性数据，其中包括12项简表（SF-12）调查，以测量参与者的生活质量并评估自我报告的身心健康状况。第一阶段的主要发现揭示了较低的身体成分总结（PCS）得分与诸如全科医生就诊频率等因素之间的显著关系。此外，发现运动偏好对心理成分总结（MCS）得分有显著影响，与单独锻炼或与训练伙伴一起锻炼的人相比，更喜欢多种运动环境的个体报告的MCS得分更高。第二阶段通过半结构化访谈进一步探讨了这些发现，参与者讨论了包括身体健康认知、药物的作用以及全科医生关系的重要性等主题。主题分析揭示了改善身体健康的五个主要障碍：服务的可及性和可用性、动机、工作人员态度、药物副作用以及诊断遮蔽体验。参与者报告认为身心健康相互关联，并表示希望获得更多的协作护理。结果表明，加强与全科医生的关系以及提高对药物副作用的认识可能会改善患有精神疾病个体的身体健康状况。精神科护士可以通过监测、支持改善健康的策略以及促进获得初级保健服务，在提高身体健康状况方面发挥关键作用。
