Health behavior change benefits: Perspectives of Latinos with serious mental illness

• Published in: Transcultural psychiatry Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 313 - 329
• Main Authors: Jimenez, Daniel E., Burrows, Kimberly, Aschbrenner, Kelly, Barre, Laura K., Pratt, Sarah I., Alegría, Margarita, Bartels, Stephen J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2016
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Exercise; Female; Health Behavior; Health Promotion - methods; Healthy Diet; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Mental Disorders - therapy; Middle Aged; Motivation; Obesity - ethnology; Obesity - psychology; Qualitative Research; United States; Young Adult; serious mental illness; health behavior change; Latino
• ISSN: 1363-4615; 1461-7471
• DOI: 10.1177/1363461516632388

The objective of this study was to explore the perceived benefits of engaging in health behavior change from the viewpoint of overweight and obese Latinos with severe mental illness (SMI) enrolled in the U.S. Qualitative, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 obese Latinos with SMI who were enrolled in a randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of a motivational health promotion intervention adapted for persons with SMI. Overweight and obese Latino participants believed that engaging in health behavior change would have both physical and mental health benefits, including chronic disease management, changes in weight and body composition, and increased self-esteem. Interventions that explicitly link physical activity and healthy eating to improvements in mental health and well-being may motivate Latinos with SMI to adopt health behavior change.