Unmet Needs of People with Serious Mental Illness: Perspectives from Certified Peer Specialists

• Published in: Psychiatric quarterly 2019-09, Vol.90 (3), p.579-586
• Main Authors: Fortuna, Karen L., Ferron, Joelle, Pratt, Sarah I., Muralidharan, Anjana, Aschbrenner, Kelly A., Williams, Ashley M., Deegan, Patricia E., Salzer, Mark
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictions; Alcohol use; Bipolar disorder; Chronic illnesses; Convergence; Depressive personality disorders; Drug abuse; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Loneliness; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental health; Mental health care; Middle Aged; Needs Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Original Paper; Participatory research; Peer Group; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatry; Public Health; Research methodology; Schizophrenia; Social interactions; Social isolation; Sociology; Specialists; Specialization - statistics & numerical data; Substance abuse
• ISSN: 0033-2720; 1573-6709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11126-019-09647-y

Examine the unmet needs of people with serious mental illness (SMI) from the perspective of certified peer specialists. 267 certified peer specialists from 38 states completed an online survey (female [73%], 50.9 [ SD  = 12] years, and non-Hispanic White [79.8%]). Many respondents reported a primary mental health diagnoses ( n  = 200), 22 respondents reported their diagnosis as schizophrenia spectrum disorder (11%), 46 respondents reported bipolar disorder (22.1%), 47 respondents reported major depressive disorder (22.6%), 29 respondents reported post-traumatic stress disorder (13.9%), 27 respondents reported alcohol/substance use disorder (13%), 2 respondents reported personality disorder (1%), and 12 reported “other” (5.8%). A mixed methods convergence analysis integrated quantitative with qualitative data. Social isolation ( n  = 160, 59.9%) and feeling lonely ( n  = 159, 59.6%) were the most highly endorsed unmet need, followed by the need to address chronic health conditions ( n  = 80, 30%), prevent mental health hospitalization ( n  = 71, 23.6%), and prevent drug use ( n  = 66, 24.7%). Four themes emerged: need to address basic necessities, loneliness and social isolation, hope, and addiction. Addressing loneliness and social isolation were identified as the primary unmet needs among people with SMI. Addressing co-morbid health conditions may simultaneously impact other unmet needs. Hope is an important intervention target. Initial insights from this study can be used to guide researchers’ efforts to incorporate certified peer specialists perspectives in developing programs to meet the needs of people with SMI. Future research using participatory research methods can further examine these initial insights.