Self-Care and Its Correlates in Adults Seeking Outpatient Psychiatric Services

The study aimed at examining the nature of self-care practices in a sample of individuals seeking psychiatric outpatient services and the relationship between engagements in self-care with selected socio-demographic and illness and treatment variables as well as with indices of recovery. It also explored the nature of self-perceived barriers and facilitators for engagement in self-care. A cross-sectional survey method was utilized. 62 participants with severe and common mental illness who had been seeking outpatient psychiatric services at a tertiary care hospital were recruited in the study. A self-care survey was also developed as part of the study. Participants with higher educational level, those currently engaged in regular work, having lower severity of illness and absence of comorbidity had significantly higher scores on one or more self-care variables as compared to their counterparts. The illness itself, financial constraints and lack of support from significant others were reported as major perceived barriers to self-care. Informal and formal support, facilities/resources in the locality, social resources/opportunities and. personal resources emerged as major facilitators of self-care. The findings also suggest that perceived support plays an important role as a facilitator of self-care in persons with psychiatric illness.