Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Previous study has shown that people with mental illness lack of effective time management skills to engage in healthy occupational activities and tend to lead in sedentary lifestyle. Results showed that Balance in Everyday Life (BEL) and self-management intervention called Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) helped people with mental illness to actively participate in meaningful activities and improve their quality of life. Therefore, this study intended to develop a occupation-based self-management program, name JMH-SM. This JMH-SM program incorporated components from the BEL, WRAP, and the Lifestyle Redesign®program It consists of 12 2-hour weekly sessions. The topics include occupational choice and pursuit, sleep education, healthy diet and weight management, emotional awareness and stress management, etc. Each session was interactive, and it started with health education followed by simulation activities and ended with discussion for clients to share their experience. Clients were asked to practice the learned strategies at home and reported their experience for the following week. Eleven clients completed the program. Of all the components in WHOQOL-BREF, interestingly only the environment component showed significant improvement (Z=-1.702, p = 0.04) .Based on the open-ended survey, 90% of the participants stated that this program helped them reflect their current lifestyle and develop healthier habit and routine in daily occupations.