Perceived quality of life and associated factors among patients with severe mental illness in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Severe mental illness is strongly associated with an impaired quality of life. This intern can affect the treatment adherence and outcomes of the illness. However, there are insufficient studies in the literature pertaining to the quality of life of patients with severe mental illness in Ethiopia. Therefore, assessing the quality of life of patients with severe mental illness and its correlates is a yardstick measure of the effectiveness of the mental health service. Methods An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1 to 16, 2019 at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital. A systematic random sampling technique was used to get a total number of 387 samples. Data were collected using interview-administered questionnaires; World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version, Morisky Medication Adherence Screening Tool, Oslo Social Support Scale, and Jacoby Stigma Scale. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis were used to assess the contributing factors of quality of life in the participants and B coefficient with 95% CI confidence interval was used. The statistical significance was accepted at p value < 0.05. Results The result showed that the Mean quality of life score of patients with severe mental illness for each domain (mean ± SD) was 41.3 ± 7.5, 42.8 ± 8.2, 38.9 ± 8.9, and 41.8 ± 6.5 for physical, psychological, social and environmental, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that age of participants was strongly positively correlated with all domains of quality of life. It predicts above 45% of the variability in each domain. Social support is also another strong predictor which was negatively correlated with all domains of quality of life, except physical. Conclusion This study revealed that the mean score quality of life of patients with severe mental illness in each domain was low. This demonstrates a need for improving the quality of life of people with severe mental illness by integration of a positive mental health approach and bio-psychosocial view with biological treatment of severe mental illness. Moreover, in Collaboration with medical professionals, people with severe mental illness should screen and managed for any comorbid medical conditions.

Health related quality of life among people with mental illness: The role of socio-clinical characteristics and level of functional disability

“…In the current study, a higher social support score among those with mental illness is a significant positive predictor of a greater HRQoL. This finding is supported by other studies done in Ethiopia ( 24 ) and other parts of the world ( 49 – 52 ). Cohen et al, discovered that the absence of loneliness and consistent social interactions predicted subjective wellbeing in people with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia ( 53 ).…”

“…It is categorized as poor [3–8], moderate [9–11], and strong [12–14] social support ( 33 ), and a higher score indicates better social support. In the previous study ( 24 ), it had a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.93, and in the current study, it had an acceptable Cronbach's alpha of 0.75.…”

“…A recent study also revealed that severity of symptoms, duration of treatment and number of hospitalization determines HRQoL among patients with schizophrenia and depression ( 23 ). Likewise, recent studies in Ethiopia elicited that age of onset of illness, perceived stigma, medication compliance, substance use, and comorbid medical illness are significantly impacted HRQoL among PWMI ( 24 – 26 ).…”

Self-Care Ability of Patients With Severe Mental Disorders: Based on Community Patients Investigation in Beijing, China

“…The results showed that most patients were older, had long illnesses, and nearly half had the physical disease at the same time. The characteristics of respondents are similar to Fleury et al ( 29 ) and Shumye et al ( 30 ). The average scores of basic daily activities are more than 90, indicating that patients have a strong ability to eat, dress, and other simple behaviors generally.…”

Management practice and discharge outcome of patients with psychiatric disorder admitted to psychiatry wards of selected specialized settings in Ethiopia

“…It has a capacity of 270 beds for inpatient care. The number of emergency visits per month is close to 2000 [ 18 , 19 ]. On the other hand, JMC is located in Jimma Town, 352 km southwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.…”