Facilitating Partner Support for Lifestyle Change Among Adults with Serious Mental Illness: A Feasibility Pilot Study.
The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility of an intervention designed to facilitate partner support for lifestyle change among overweight and obese adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Fifteen adults with SMI enrolled in a lifestyle intervention at community mental health centers participated with a self-selected partner in an additional 12-week intervention component designed to facilitate social support for health behavior change. Participants reported that the program was useful, convenient, and helped them reach their goals. Approximately two-thirds (66%) of participants were below their baseline weight at follow-up, including 27% achieving clinically significant weight loss. Participants reported significant increases in partner support for exercise and use of persuasive social support strategies. Partner support interventions that promote exercising together and positive communication may be effective for helping individuals with SMI initiate and sustain health behavior change necessary to reduce cardiovascular risk.
Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA. kelly.aschbrenner@dartmouth.edu.|The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA. kelly.aschbrenner@dartmouth.edu.|Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA. kelly.aschbrenner@dartmouth.edu.
Kelly A
KA
Aschbrenner
Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston, MA, USA.
Kim T
KT
Mueser
Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.|The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA.
John A
JA
Naslund
University of Connecticut Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention, Storrs, CT, USA.
Amy A
AA
Gorin
Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston, MA, USA.
Stacey A
SA
Zawacki
Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Sarah I
SI
Pratt
Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.|The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Allison
A
Kinney
Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.|The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.|Department of Community and Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Stephen
S
Bartels
D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D009765:Obesity; D010865:Pilot Projects; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Lifestyle intervention; Serious mental illness; Social support; Weight loss