Patients' conceptualization of recovery from schizophrenia in UK (Research Proposal Sample)

Patients’ conceptualization of recovery from schizophrenia in UK
Abstract
This study presents in depth analyses of patient conceptualization of recovery. The study focuses on individuals receiving treatment or those who are recovering from schizophrenia. This is informed by in depth literature which indicates the need to understand and influence patient conceptualization through various ways. The study is a qualitative study, based on questionnaires and case studies. From the study, it is evident that positive conceptualization of recovery among individuals with schizophrenia is highly influenced by the environment in which they live, the quality of relationships with others, financial security, and satisfactory work.
1. Introduction
Schizophrenia has been a common mental illness that affects majority of individuals across the globe. The ailment is one of the serious mental defects that are characterized by individuals losing memory and disturbances in their thoughts, perceptions, behavior, and emotions. However, professionals in the health sector have argued against the existence of schizophrenia claiming that it is just an emotional problem that is short-term and can be cured with relaxation and living a stress-free life. One of the recent cases was evidenced in the Nelson Mandela memorial service where the sign interpreter was accused of providing signs that were not making, but he later claimed that he was suffering from schizophrenia. When one has schizophrenia, an individual losses touch with what is happening in the surrounding environment, hear or see things that are illusion, and hold unfounded or irrational beliefs. Normally, this mental illness lasts for weeks and it does not have a treatment with 100 per cent success rate.
As Schizophrenia is a mental illness, it has caused varied degree of cases that have been reported across UK. The World Health Organisation declared that mental illnesses worldwide account for 11% of the “ill health burden” and was expected to rise to 15% by the year 2020 (Cattan and Tilford, 2006). The WHO (2012) conducted a meta-analysis of community studies in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Results showed that 27% of the adult population aged 18-65 had experienced one or more symptoms from at least one mental disorder, such as anxiety, depression, psychosis and eating disorders. Out of this 27%, 35.2% were female and 21.7% were male. Suicide is linked with mental illness and is a cause for great concern in the public health sector. According to the WHO (2012), 123,853 people commit suicide every year and men are nearly five times more inclined to commit suicide than women; an average statistic of EU countries shows that 23.8 of 100 000 men and 5.2 of 100 000 women commit suicide, even though women are shown to harbour more mental illnesses. Some of the medications or treatment mechanisms undertaken include psycho-social therapies, and antipsychotic medications.
2. Rationale and Purpose of Study
Schizophrenia is becoming a serious health issue in that it is causing victims to experience mental health condition that distort ideas and beliefs. People suffering from schizophrenia are such that they lose touch with what is happening in their environment and they are hardly able to differentiate the true and real thoughts from those which are not. In the United Kingdom, schizophrenia is the most common mental disorder affecting one person in every one hundred people in the population (Cavelti et al, 2012). This ailment normally begins at the adolescent stage, or it may show up in the early twenties causing quite disturbing experiences. Individuals having the disorder suffer greatly and their families face a lot of disruption, because they need health and social care. In fact, in the UK, more than a quarter of the population gets treatment for schizophrenia by the National Health Service (NHS).
It is therefore, important to do a study about schizophrenia, because it is a very unique illness that is different from heart disease and cancer. The general public has little understanding about the disease and is furthermore, surrounded by myths and a lot of stigma thus, preventing people having the disorder from coming open to discuss about it.
However, there have been great improvements in the treatment of the illness with the introduction of the community care over the last 20 years. The country has better medications and people suffering from the illness are able to access superb therapies, such as counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy (Cavelti et al, 2012).
The purpose of this study is to assess the patient’s conceptualization of recovery from schizophrenia in UK. Since there is significant differences on the way in which the society and the medical fraternity perceive the success of the treatment of schizophrenia, there is need to untangle the conflicting psychiatric arguments and determine the effective and reliable solution. Clinicians, unlike the psychiatrist, have their own perception on the recovery of the patients suffering from schizophrenia.
3. Aims and Objectives
The aim of this study is to understand the recovery process of patients with schizophrenia and the kind of medication administered to ensure their full recovery.
General Objective
To explore how patients conceptualize the recovery process from schizophrenia in UK
Specific Objectives
To untangle conflicting understanding of the recovery of Schizophrenia
To determine the conceptualization of recovery process of Schizophrenia by the clinicians and the psychiatrists
To determine whether clinicians and psychiatrists perceive that the patients gain full recovery from Schizophrenia
4. Literature Review
The concept of recovery from the view of the patient involves seeking to stay in control in spite of the existence of the mental condition. To attain this, there is need for health care providers not only to offer treatment to such individuals, but to equally build their resilience. Health care providers should thus, focus on the person rather than the symptoms. The process should make individuals feel that recovery from mental illness is possible, significantly enhancing their resilience towards recovery. It requires positive attitude to such individuals, and this requires high level of optimism. This calls for individuals to strive to have control over their lives, although they may lack control over the symptoms.
Spaniol et al. (2002), in their article, provides an assessment of the recovery process from Schizophrenia. The qualitative study allowed a glimpse on the personal experiences that were demonstrated by individuals having been treated with Schizophrenia outlining how they dealt with the effects of the mental illness in terms of social barriers, psychological aspects, and physical constraints. Calveti et al. (2012) assess the recovery from schizophrenia basing its research on the individual process of recovery. The study purports that the recovery process from the ailment should be based on the individual’s activities. As schizophrenia is a mental illness, psychological aspect of an individual plays a pivotal role in determining the recovery process.
According to Angyal (2005), the psychological process provides a cordial understanding on the perception and recovery process in the patients. The research provides that psychodynamic process plays a significant role in the recovery process, and the study assesses the catatonic schizophrenia. Shea (2010) outlines the recovery process through undertaking the initiatives and strategies developed by the medical practitioners. She understands that the recovery process is normally achieved fully, and that the patients should rely on the information and medical initiatives of psychiatrists and clinicians.
Promoting mental health is a process involving enhancement of protective factors that promote an individual’s mental health. Health care workers and nurses have skills that once utilized can take care of the patients leading to positive results. Mental health workers have promoted recovery of individuals with mental illness as well as drug related cases. Mental illness among individuals requires ongoing and long term treatment, a duty that nurses and health care workers carry out on day to day basis to inpatients with mental problems. Some of the individuals with mental problems are very complicated, something that health care workers have o deal with. This may call for employment of very skilled medical personnel to manage these individuals with extreme mental problems (Julaine, 2010). In spite of this, their physical fitness should not be neglected
Mental health workers strive to take care of the patients while at the same time maintaining their privacy, dignity as well as confidentiality. They develop environments conducive for recovery of patients with mental disorders. They also promote understanding between the patients and their families. Such families and communities are thus able to handle individuals with mental disorders in a better manner. By working with the third parties, health workers empower such parties to take care of the patients. This boost the patients’ physical health while at the same time increasing their chances of recovery. Health workers develops measures aimed at preventing occurrence of mental illness in the community while at the same time increasing the level of resilience by family of the affected individuals and the community on mental disorders (Sammy, Carr, & Rounsevell, 2007). This has led to increasing cases of early detection in United States of America, which has improved the physical and mental state of the affected individuals significantly. In United States of America, National Mental Health Strategy has introduced reforms that have improved significantly the health of not only the patients, but...