Premium
Effects of the Thai Health Improvement Profile intervention on the physical health and health behaviours of people with schizophrenia: A quasi‐experimental study
Author(s) -
Meepring Soontareeporn,
Chien Wai Tong,
Gray Richard,
Bressington Daniel
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12301
Subject(s) - medicine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychological intervention , physical health , mental health , intervention (counseling) , health care , gerontology , psychiatry , economics , economic growth
Physical health problems and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours are common in people with severe mental illness (SMI), leading to high levels of mortality.There is some evidence that nurse‐led interventions involving comprehensive health checks may be effective in improving physical health in people with SMI. This quasi‐experimental before‐and‐after study investigated the impacts of the Thai Health Improvement Profile (HIP‐T) on the physical health and health behaviours of people with schizophrenia over 1‐year. All 105 service‐users who volunteered to participate completed the study. There were significant reductions in mean BMI (−0.78 kg/m 2 , P < .001) and bodyweight (−1.13 kg, P < .001) at post‐test. There was also a significant decrease in the total number of “red‐flagged” HIP‐T items, suggesting lowered potential health risks ( P < .001). Overall, 23 patients (22%) were found to have moved to a healthier BMI classification after 1‐year. The findings suggest that the HIP‐T intervention has potential for improving the physical health of people with SMI when integrated into routine community mental health care.