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Focus on Exercise: Client and Clinician Perspectives on Exercise in Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

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Abstract

The health benefits of exercise are well established, yet individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have a shorter life expectancy due in large part to physical health complications associated with poor diet and lack of exercise. There is a paucity of research examining exercise in this population with the majority of studies having examined interventions with limited feasibility and sustainability. Before developing an intervention, a thorough exploration of client and clinician perspectives on exercise and its associated barriers is warranted. Twelve clients and fourteen clinicians participated in focus groups aimed at examining exercise, barriers, incentives, and attitudes about walking groups. Results indicated that clients and clinicians identified walking as the primary form of exercise, yet barriers impeded consistent participation. Distinct themes arose between groups; however, both clients and clinicians reported interest in a combination group/pedometer based walking program for individuals with SMI. Future research should consider examining walking programs for this population.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Thava Mahadevan, M.A. and Kelly Smedley, R.N. for aiding recruitment efforts and administrative support at STEP, Bonita Marks, Ph.D. and James Blumenthal, Ph.D. for design consultation, Kelsey Ludwig, B.A. for assistance in conducting focus groups, and Kagan Griffin for providing data management services.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Julia Browne & David L. Penn

  2. Odum Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Paul Mihas

  3. Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    David L. Penn

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  1. Julia Browne
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  2. Paul Mihas
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  3. David L. Penn
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Correspondence to Julia Browne.

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Browne, J., Mihas, P. & Penn, D.L. Focus on Exercise: Client and Clinician Perspectives on Exercise in Individuals with Serious Mental Illness. Community Ment Health J 52, 387–394 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9896-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9896-y

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