Perspectives on neighbourhoods and health in severe mental illness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring perspectives of service users and professionals on the environmental and social factors that impact health outcomes in people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses
IRAS ID
292076
Contact name
Dionne Laporte
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 28 days
Research summary
People diagnosed with severe mental illnesses (SMI) experience a 10-20 year reduction in life expectancy compared to the general population - this excess risk of mortality has been associated mostly to preventable physical causes (e.g. cardiovascular disease). Prior studies have also found variation in mortality rates between different geographical areas.
Historically, studies investigating factors associated to premature mortality in the SMI population tend to focus on individual-level factors (e.g. diet, substance misuse). However, there has been limited research on the link between neighbourhood-level factors (e.g. access to green spaces, neighbourhood population density) and mortality in this population despite evidence of this association within studies conducted with samples without SMI. Furthermore, the methodology used by these studies were solely quantitative which precludes in-depth analysis of possible underlying mechanisms connecting health outcomes and neighbourhood-level factors in the SMI population. Hence the current project will conduct qualitative interviews to develop understanding of the link between neighbourhood-level factors and premature mortality within SMI.
The qualitative interviews will be conducted with people with SMI and professionals from the health, social care and charitable sectors to understand their perspectives on the neighbourhood-level factors that influence the health of people with SMI. The data generated from the interviews will be triangulated with data from another quantitative dataset to understand the underlying mechanisms that link the neighbourhood-level factors and mortality in people with SMI.
The study foresees no direct benefits for participants. However, it is hoped that the people who take part in the interviews will be satisfied with the experience of being able to give their views and shape future research and health and social care policies.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0117
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion