Physical activity following discharge from inpatient adult mental health settings

Background

People with severe mental illness are considerably less physically active than the general population and experience a premature mortality of 10–20 years, often attributed to modifiable behaviours, including physical activity. Inpatient environments provide opportunities for people with SMI to become more physically active, however evidence is limited on its sustainability following discharge to community settings.

Objective

This review aimed to summarise the published evidence relating to physical activity interventions following discharge from inpatient adult mental health settings.

Design

MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and AMED databases were searched to identify articles considering physical activity interventions taking place following discharge from an adult (>18) inpatient mental health setting, published after 2007.

Results

Of 3412 unique results, 5 studies were eligible for inclusion. Despite all included studies involving some transition between inpatient and community mental health settings, to-date no study has focused exclusively on physical activity interventions delivered following discharge from inpatient mental health settings.

Conclusions

This review has found insufficient evidence to guide the delivery of physical activity following discharge from inpatient mental health services. Future research is required to improve our knowledge of the optimal forms and delivery of physical activity interventions during this time, alongside quantifying the impact on readmission rates and clinical presentation.