Why Do People with Severe Mental Illness Have Poor Cardiovascular Health?—The Need for Implementing a Recovery-Based Self-Management Approach

Sara Zabeen, Sharon Lawn, Anthony Venning and Kate Fairweather
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Sara Zabeen: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia
Sharon Lawn: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia
Anthony Venning: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia
Kate Fairweather: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: People with severe mental illness (SMI) die significantly earlier than their well counterparts, mainly due to preventable chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Based on the existing research, this perspective paper summarises the key contributors to CVD in people with SMI to better target the areas that require more attention to reduce, and ultimately resolve this health inequity. We discuss five broad factors that, according to current international evidence, are believed to be implicated in the development and maintenance of CVD in people with SMI: (1) bio-psychological and lifestyle-related factors; (2) socio-environmental factors; (3) health system-related factors; (4) service culture and practice-related factors; and (5) research-related gaps on how to improve the cardiovascular health of those with SMI. This perspective paper identifies that CVD in people with SMI is a multi-faceted problem involving a range of risk factors. Furthermore, existing chronic care or clinical recovery models alone are insufficient to address this complex problem, and none of these models have identified the significant roles that family caregivers play in improving a person’s self-management behaviours. A new framework is proposed to resolve this complex health issue that warrants a collaborative approach within and between different health and social care sectors.

Keywords: severe mental illness; cardiovascular disease; comorbidity; chronic condition self-management; recovery; caregiver; self-care; integrated care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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