Health promotion and social support for community-based clients with chronic mental illness

The purpose of this study was to determine the health promotion practices and life styles of 35 chronically mentally ill clients who resided in four group homes in a medium-sized southern community. Supervision in these homes ranged from full supervision to none. The Pender Health Promotion and Lifestyle Instrument (HPLP), the Duke-University of North Carolina Functional Support Questionnaire, and the Hollingshead Four Factor Index of Social Status were used. The Pender instrument had internal consistency scores that ranged from .92 for health promotion and lifestyle scale to .70 for the stress management subscale. Several findings emerged. The total scores were low for this sample on the HPLP and the six subscales: nutrition, exercise, health responsibility, stress management, internal support, and self-actualization. There were strong positive correlations between social interaction and age, father's education, and HPLP.