TY - JOUR

T1 - “Modifying” or “Retreating”- Self-management of physical health among a group of people with schizophrenia. An ethnographic study from Denmark

AU - Lerbæk, Birgitte

AU - Jørgensen, Rikke

AU - Buus, Niels

AU - Lauritsen, Marlene Briciet

AU - Aagaard, Jørgen

AU - Nordgaard, Julie

AU - McCloughen, Andrea

N1 - Funding Information: Clinic Psychiatry South, Aalborg University Hospital. North Denmark Region, Psychiatry, Research grant for nurses doing mental healthcare research. North Denmark Region, Health Science Research Fund. Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - The aim of this ethnographic study was to explore how a group of nine Danish people with schizophrenia managed physical health issues as they naturally occurred in everyday life. Qualitative methods were used to generate of data. Thematic analysis led to the description of two typical strategies used by participants to manage debilitating physical health issues in everyday life. Modifying everyday life to manage discomfort was a strategy employed to manage potential or actual discomfort associated with ongoing poor physical health, while retreating from everyday life to recover was a strategy used by participants who experienced recurring discrete episodes of poor physical health characterized by fast deterioration. Both management strategies were inexpedient as they failed to produce any positive progress in terms of the participants regaining health. The social context of participants’ everyday life was characterized by a lack of interactions with others about their prevailing and ongoing physical health issues. Repeated use of these inexpedient strategies to manage physical health caused potential worsening rather than improvements to physical health. There is a need for future research that explores aspects of beneficial management of physical health issues among people with severe mental illness. Relevant foci of such research include enhancing self-management of physical health, active help-seeking behaviours, and opportunities to engage in interactions with others about physical health issues.

AB - The aim of this ethnographic study was to explore how a group of nine Danish people with schizophrenia managed physical health issues as they naturally occurred in everyday life. Qualitative methods were used to generate of data. Thematic analysis led to the description of two typical strategies used by participants to manage debilitating physical health issues in everyday life. Modifying everyday life to manage discomfort was a strategy employed to manage potential or actual discomfort associated with ongoing poor physical health, while retreating from everyday life to recover was a strategy used by participants who experienced recurring discrete episodes of poor physical health characterized by fast deterioration. Both management strategies were inexpedient as they failed to produce any positive progress in terms of the participants regaining health. The social context of participants’ everyday life was characterized by a lack of interactions with others about their prevailing and ongoing physical health issues. Repeated use of these inexpedient strategies to manage physical health caused potential worsening rather than improvements to physical health. There is a need for future research that explores aspects of beneficial management of physical health issues among people with severe mental illness. Relevant foci of such research include enhancing self-management of physical health, active help-seeking behaviours, and opportunities to engage in interactions with others about physical health issues.

KW - illness behaviour

KW - qualitative research

KW - schizophrenia

KW - self-management

KW - social interaction

U2 - 10.1111/inm.12907

DO - 10.1111/inm.12907

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34263516

AN - SCOPUS:85118491959

VL - 30

SP - 1575

EP - 1587

JO - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing

JF - International Journal of Mental Health Nursing

SN - 1445-8330

IS - 6

ER -