Comparison of Resilience, Personal Recovery, and Quality of Life Measures Pre- and Post-Discharge from Inpatient Mental Health Units in Alberta: Analysis of Control Group Data from a Randomized Trial.
Ernest Owusu, Reham Shalaby, Hossam Elgendy, Wanying Mao, Nermin Shalaby, Belinda Agyapong, Angel Nichols, Ejemai Eboreime, Nnamdi Nkire, Mobolaji A Lawal, Vincent I O Agyapong
Author Information
Ernest Owusu: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada. ORCID
Reham Shalaby: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada. ORCID
Hossam Elgendy: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
Wanying Mao: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada. ORCID
Nermin Shalaby: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
Belinda Agyapong: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada. ORCID
Angel Nichols: Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Alberta Health Services, Grande Prairie, AB T5J 3E4, Canada.
Ejemai Eboreime: Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada. ORCID
Nnamdi Nkire: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
Mobolaji A Lawal: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
Vincent I O Agyapong: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada. ORCID
The transition from hospital to community settings for most mental health service users is often hindered by challenges that affect community adjustment and continuity of care. The first few weeks and days after discharge from mental health inpatient units represent a critical phase for many service users. This paper aims to evaluate the changes in the resilience, personal recovery, and quality of life status of individuals with mental health challenges recently discharged from acute mental health care into the community. Data for this study were collected as part of a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster-randomized, longitudinal approach in Alberta. A paired sample -test and Chi-squared/Fisher test were deployed to assess changes from baseline to six weeks in the recovery assessment scale (RAS), brief resilience scale (BRS), and EuroQol-5d (EQ-5D), using an online questionnaire. A total of 306 service users were recruited and 88 completed both baseline and six weeks, giving a response rate of 28.8%. There was no statistically significant change in the level of resilience, recovery and quality of life as measured with the brief resilience scale, recovery assessment scale and EQ-5D from baseline to six weeks ( > 0.05). The study showed that there was neither an improvement nor deterioration in resilience, recovery, or quality of life status of service users six weeks post-discharge from inpatient mental health care. The lack of further progress calls into question whether the support available in the community when patient's leave inpatient care is adequate to promote full recovery. The results justify investigations into the effectiveness of innovative and cost-effective programs such as peer and text-based supportive interventions for service users discharged from inpatient psychiatric care.
