Physical health of people living with a severe mental illness
Improving physical healthcare in people with mental illness is a local and national priority. People living with a mental illness have far poorer physical health than other Australians, because their physical health needs can be overshadowed by their mental health condition. Compared with other Australians, people living with mental illness are more likely to have physical illnesses such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer.
Canberra Health Services, ACT Health and University of Canberra are working with Mental Health Justice Health Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHADS) to implement the Physical Health Implementation Plan. All research will be defined and driven by clinicians and consumers for better patient outcomes. Priority areas include consumer-focused and targeted dietary and physical activity interventions, pharmacology, health coaching interventions and programs to optimise cardiometabolic monitoring. Understanding how to best implement real-world programs that improve the physical health of Australians living with a mental illness will reduce hospital admissions and time spend in hospital.
Projects
| Name | Contact | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary and Exercise for Physical Health | Tamieka Mawer |
Specialist dietary and exercise interventions for improving physical health of people living with a severe mental illness Researchers: Tamieka Mawer, Dr Jane Kellett, and Assoc Prof Rachel Bacon, Assoc Prof Andrew McKune |
| Motivators and barriers to exercise | Annaleise Naylor | Understanding the barriers and motivators to engaging in exercise aimed at improving the physical health of people living with a severe mental illness. Researchers: Annaleise Naylor, Dr Andrew Flood, and Assoc Prof Richard Keegan |
| Stress physiology, inflammation and bioenergetic dysfunction in youth mental illness – Exercise screening | Assoc Prof Andrew McKune |
Developing an exercise-based screening tool to understand biological mechanisms potentially driving the development of mental illness in youth. Researchers: Assoc Prof Andrew McKune, Assoc Prof Nenad Naumovski, Asst Prof Joe Northey, Angela Douglas, Rachel Venn |
| Community based physical literacy program for young people recovering from early onset psychosis | Assoc Prof Andrew McKune |
Developing an individualised, systematic, physical literacy-based program to help young people recovering from early onset psychosis to reintegrate into community life. Researchers: Assoc Prof Andrew McKune, Prof Dick Telford, Assoc Prof Richard Keegan, Lisa Olive |
Staff
| Name | Discipline | Research interests |
|---|---|---|
| Assoc Prof Rachel Bacon | Nutrition and Dietetics | Clinical dietetics, aged care, oncology and mental health; communication and behaviour change; and research in interprofessional education, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and pedagogies and workforce development |
| Prof Nick Brown | Sport and Exercise | Collaborative research, and clinical and gait biomechanics |
| Dr Andrew Flood | Psychology | Stress, performance and resilience. Pain, athletes and endurance exercise |
| Assoc Prof Richard Keegan | Sport and Exercise Science | Sports psychology, performance and exercise |
| Dr Jane Kellett | Nutrition and Dietetics | Clinical dietetics, nutrition for older people, and vulnerable people |
| Assoc Prof Andrew McKune | Sport and Exercise Science | Stress physiology and bioenergetics in mental illness, role of movement and nutrition in the treatment of mental illness, youth mental health, early intervention in mental health |
HDR students
| Name | Project description |
|---|---|
| Tamieka Mawer | Specialist dietary and exercise interventions for improving physical health of people living with a severe mental illness |
| Annaleise Naylor | Understanding the barriers and motivator to engaging in exercise aimed at improving the physical health of people living with a severe mental illness |