Improving the physical health assessment of people with serious mental illness
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

Improving the physical health assessment of people with serious mental illness

Josephine Bardi PhD student, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham
Calvin Ray Moorley PhD senior lecturer, London South Bank University, Faculty of Health and Social Care, London

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) die on average 20 years younger than the general population. The aim of the review described in this article was to examine relevant literature on the physical health of those with SMI and identify areas for improvement. Four electronic databases were searched and areas identified included side effects of psychotropic medications, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, risky sexual behaviour, poor dietary intake and physical inactivity. The authors conclude that physical care of people with SMI can work well when physical health needs are assessed. Additional training is required for mental health nurses in physical health care.

Primary Health Care. 26, 10, 28-33. doi: 10.7748/phc.2016.e1149

Correspondence

moorleyc@lsbu.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 05 April 2016

Accepted: 03 May 2016

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more