title: A day in the life of women with a serious mental illness: a qualitative investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Few studies have taken a holistic perspective to the lives of women with a serious mental illness (SMI). This qualitative study of women with an SMI describes and interprets women's experiences and provides a new understanding about the nature and needs of these women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 30 poor, urban, predominantly African-American women with a diagnosis of an SMI was recruited from an ongoing National Institutes of Mental Health study. Data collection involved face-to-face, in-depth interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis occurred concurrently with data collection using a modified constant comparative method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of the women self-identified as African American, single, having completed high school, and at the time of the interview were either unemployed or on disability. The most common SMI was major depression. A common topic in the women's reflections on their lives was that of social disadvantage both before being diagnosed as well as after to their diagnosis with an SMI. Salient themes of their stories included social isolation, experiencing loss, and having a lack of control over one's own life decisions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study revealed varied experiences among these women as well as the complexity of their situation. The enhanced understanding of women's situation will allow mental health professionals to improve the quality of life for women with an SMI by taking a contextual approach to the treatment of their mental illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. cborba@partners.org
authors.forename: Christina P C
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Borba
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Depadilla
authors.forename: Benjamin G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Druss
authors.forename: Frances A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: McCarty
authors.forename: Silke A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: von Esenwein
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sterk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D036301:Qualitative Research; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012923:Social Class; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation