Barriers to Somatic Health Care for Persons With Severe Mental Illness in Belgium: A Qualitative Study of Patients' and Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives

Background A huge and still growing mortality gap between people with severe mental illness (SMI) and the general population exists. Physical illnesses, mainly cardiovascular diseases, substantially contribute to the high mortality rates in patients with SMI. Disparities in somatic health care access, utilisation, and provision contribute to these poor physical health outcomes. Methods A qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews, was set up to explore SMI patients' and healthcare professionals' perspectives on somatic health care in different psychiatric settings of the three Belgian... Mehr ...