Patient perspectives on how living with a mental illness affects making and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes.
Bobbi Jo H Yarborough, Scott P Stumbo, Julie A Cavese and 2 others
PMID 30205919WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with mental illness said lifestyle advice felt overwhelming when symptoms already demanded effort, and depression could make a healthier future hard to care about.
They valued trust and support between visits.
Key findings
01Patients said being asked to change lifestyle added stress when they were already overwhelmed by mental illness symptoms.
02Survey responses showed that 34% said mental health problems interfered a great deal and 23% a moderate amount with following preventive care recommendations.
03Some patients said unhealthy behaviors gave temporary relief from mental health symptoms and were unlikely to be discontinued.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only patients with mental illness diagnoses were interviewed, so the study cannot compare these barriers with patients without mental illness. The study reports patient perspectives and suggestions, not tested interventions, so it cannot show that any clinician approach improves lifestyle change. Five enrolled patients did not complete interviews, so the themes rest on 158 patient transcripts. The authors note a relatively low enrollment rate, but say recruited participants did not differ on key demographic and clinical variables from those who declined. The interviews were conducted in person in Oregon and southwest Washington, so the findings may not apply to other settings.
Declared interests
NIH extramural research support; authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that any clinician approach improves lifestyle change. The study reports patient perspectives and suggestions, not tested interventions.