Physical Health Care for People With Severe Mental Illness course for Nurses

Patients with severe mental illness (SMI) have significantly worse health outcomes than in the general population, with life expectancy reduced by up to 20 years in this group. Cardiovascular and metabolic causes have been identified as being the key contributors to this excess mortality and morbidity. This session will explore the reasons for these outcomes in detail and will introduce the Lester Positive Cardiometabolic Health Resource as a framework for improving health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the risks associated with taking antipsychotic medication
• Identify who should be prescribed antipsychotic medication and where it is inappropriate
• Describe the association between severe mental illness and poor physical health outcomes, and the variety of contributory factors
• Demonstrate a familiarity with the Lester Positive Cardiometabolic Health Resource to manage patients with SMI taking antipsychotic medication