title: Access to general health care services by a New Zealand population with serious mental illness.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Literature suggests that good quality health care access can have a positive impact on the health of people with serious mental illness (SMI), but literature relating to patterns of access by this group is equivocal.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to explore health care access patterns in a group of people with SMI and to compare them with a general New Zealand population group, in order for health providers to understand how they might contribute to positive health outcomes for this group.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study surveyed 404 mental health consumers aged 18-65 years receiving care from one district health board in Auckland about their patterns of health care access. Results were compared with those from the New Zealand Health Survey of the general population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings suggest that the SMI consumer respondents had poorer physical health than the general population respondents, accessed health care services in more complex ways and were more particular about who they accessed for their care than the general population respondents. There was some concern from SMI consumers around discrimination from health care providers. The study also suggested that some proactive management with SMI consumers for conditions such as metabolic syndrome was occurring within the health care community.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first point of access for SMI consumers with general health problems is not always the family general practitioner and so other health professionals may sometimes need to consider the mental and physical health of such consumers in a wider context than their own specialism.
authors.affiliation: Griffith Health Institute, School of Human Services, Griffith University, University Drive, Meadowbrook, Queensland 4131, Australia. a.wheeler@griffith.edu.au.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.affiliation: North Western Mental Health and the Australian Catholic University, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Madell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult