Physical health needs, lifestyle choices, and
quality of life among people with mental illness in
the community
WWS Mak, PKH Mo, JTF Lau, SYS Wong
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Key Messages
1. People with severe mental illness (PSMI)
demonstrated poor health profiles. Over two-thirds
of the PSMI were overweight or obese.
They scored significantly lower in all aspects of
health-related quality of life, compared with the
general population.
2. Few PSMI reported participation in preventive health behaviours such as testing blood cholesterol level, taking regular physical activity, receiving vaccinations, or undergoing cancer screening.
3. PSMI reported a moderate level of unmet needs across all domains. People with depression had a higher level of unmet needs than other diagnostic groups.
4. As predictors of life satisfaction for PSMI, depression and interpersonal problems were important factors for worse life satisfaction, whereas health-promoting behaviours, perceived social support, and self-esteem were important factors for better life satisfaction.
5. Applying the modified health belief model for PSMI, better physical and mental health-related quality of life and more-healthy lifestyle were associated with less barriers, higher responsiveness to cues to action, and higher health-specific self-efficacy.
2. Few PSMI reported participation in preventive health behaviours such as testing blood cholesterol level, taking regular physical activity, receiving vaccinations, or undergoing cancer screening.
3. PSMI reported a moderate level of unmet needs across all domains. People with depression had a higher level of unmet needs than other diagnostic groups.
4. As predictors of life satisfaction for PSMI, depression and interpersonal problems were important factors for worse life satisfaction, whereas health-promoting behaviours, perceived social support, and self-esteem were important factors for better life satisfaction.
5. Applying the modified health belief model for PSMI, better physical and mental health-related quality of life and more-healthy lifestyle were associated with less barriers, higher responsiveness to cues to action, and higher health-specific self-efficacy.