The Relationship Between Employment Status and Quality of Life For Individuals with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

1997 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna C. Vanden Boom ◽  
Daniel C. Lustig
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Community Treatment ◽  
Living Situation ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Global Quality Of Life ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between quality of life and employment status for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness was investigated. Forty individuals in the Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) participated in the study. PACT is a community-based program for persons with severe and persistent mental illness which emphasizes the importance of employment in rehabilitation. Participants were interviewed using Lehman's Quality of Life Interview. A large effect size for difference between individuals who were employed and those who were unemployed was found for assessment of global quality of life. Medium and small effect sizes were found for satisfaction with family, financial situation, health and social relations, safety, and daily activities. Minimal effect size was found for satisfaction with living situation.

The Quality of Life of Persons with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: A Typology Based on Cluster Analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Lustig ◽  
Michelle Crowder
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Quality Of Life Index ◽  
Life Improvement

Recently rehabilitation and mental health professionals have placed increased emphasis on quality of life as a service outcome for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Research has indicated that when services are based on quality of life improvement, consumers are able to achieve higher levels of independence, satisfaction, production, and community integration. Individuals with severe and persistent mental illness completed Lehman's Quality of Life Index. Respondents were grouped based on their subjective assessment of quality of life in specific life domains. Although cluster analysis revealed that most respondents viewed quality of life as satisfactory, the heterogeneous nature of the groups suggested that it is important to view quality of life from a multifaceted perspective. The multifaceted nature of quality of life is discussed in terms of implications for rehabilitation counselors, administrators, and policy makers.

Applying futility in psychiatry: a concept whose time has come

2020 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106654
Author(s):  
Sarah Levitt ◽  
Daniel Z Buchman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Illness ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Benefit Ratio ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Substitute Decision Makers

Since its introduction in the 1980s, futility as a concept has held contested meaning and applications throughout medicine. There has been little discussion within the psychiatric literature about the use of futility in the care of individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), despite some tacit acceptance that futility may apply in certain cases of psychiatric illness. In this paper, we explore the literature surrounding futility and argue that its connotation within medicine is to describe situations where patients (or their substitute decision-makers) believe that interventions will almost certainly provide no meaningful benefit. We then provide two arguments in support of the use of futility within the care of individuals experiencing SPMI: that some SPMI can be considered a terminal illness, and that the risk-benefit ratio is a dynamic entity such that futility can help describe what Gillett calls the ‘risk of unacceptable badness’ when it comes to considering how an intervention might impact a patient’s quality of life. We posit that capacity should not pose an obstacle to declaring futility when caring for individuals experiencing SPMI and explain how futility is not antithetical to recovery in mental health. Finally, we describe how using futility within psychiatric practice can allow for a reorientation of care by signalling the need to shift to a palliative approach.

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