Descriptions of wellness by individuals with schizophrenia

A major challenge in the rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia is to establish a system of monitoring disease status so interventions can be instituted to prevent disease exacerbation and to promote healthier functioning. Monitoring illness status has primarily focused on indicators of illness. The aim of the present study was to determine what individuals with schizophrenia described as evidence of wellness to generate descriptors for a wellness questionnaire. Twenty participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and living in a community setting were interviewed about their descriptors of wellness. Coding of transcriptions of the interviews yielded two major categories of wellness: Statements related to the reduction or absence of troublesome (illness) indicators and statements related to the presence of helpful or positive (wellness) indicators. Three subcategories, thoughts, feelings, and actions or behaviors emerged under both major categories. The majority of wellness descriptions focused on the presence of wellness and were actions or behaviors.