title: Doing my best: poverty and self-care among individuals with schizophrenia and diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is more common among individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorders than among the general population. Eleven mental health consumers diagnosed with comorbid schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and DM participated in a grounded theory study that examined their approaches to diabetic self-care. The resulting model, Evolving Self-Care, describes the process by which respondents developed health beliefs about the self-care of dual illnesses. One subcategory of the model, Doing My Best, was further analyzed to examine the social context of respondents' diabetic self-care. Limited financial resources and material deprivation interfered with access to the resources necessary for adequate diabetic self-care. Mental health providers are encouraged to provide treatment and patient education that are consistent with the real world living situations of individuals with schizophrenia. Policymakers at the federal and state levels need to address the impact of financing of mental health services on the overall health of vulnerable individuals with serious mental illnesses.
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky College of Nursing, Lexington, KY 40536-0232, USA. peggy.el-mallakh@uky.edu
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: El-Mallakh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000451:nursing*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000451:nursing*; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*