OP59 Weight management conversations between providers and adults with severe mental illness living in Northeast England: a qualitative study of service users’ experiences

Rodrigues, Angela, Kemp, Emma, Aquino, Ryc, Faulkner, Sally, McBride, Kate, Wilson, Rob ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0469-1884, Vasiljevic, Milica, Robson, Craig, Harland, Jill, Loraine, Mish and Haighton, Catherine (2025) OP59 Weight management conversations between providers and adults with severe mental illness living in Northeast England: a qualitative study of service users’ experiences. In: SSM Annual Scientific Meeting Oral, A29.2-A30. Presented at SSM Annual Scientific Meeting Oral, Friday 12th September, 2025.

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Abstract

Background Weight management is a critical but often overlooked aspect of care for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), particularly due to medication-related weight gain. Healthcare professionals often use opportunistic weight management conversations, aligned with the Making Every Contact Count (MECC) approach, to provide motivational support to service users. While research supports this practice from the professionals’ perspective, the views of service users on these interactions remain understudied. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of service users with SMI regarding weight management conversations with healthcare professionals. Methods The research was conducted in Northeast England within a healthcare organisation managing multiple mental health services. Purposive sampling recruited 13 service users (9 inpatients, 4 community-based) with SMI, ensuring appropriate representation of age and gender. Inclusion criteria were adults aged 18+ who were current or former service users. Semi-structured, 1–1 interviews were conducted to explore experiences of weight management support. Interviews were audio-recorded with consent and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Braun & Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis, with codes and themes developed iteratively and reviewed for consistency by a second researcher. Results Five overarching themes emerged from the analysis, which align with the study’s aim of exploring service users’ experiences of weight management conversations and their relationships with healthcare professionals. These themes cover service users’ perspectives on: (1) their experiences of weight management conversations, (2) the development of therapeutic relationships in hospital settings and how these shifted after discharge for community service users, (3) the support they received from healthcare professionals, (4) their preferences for healthcare professional communication, and (5) their descriptions of MECC conversations. Service users reported a lack of information regarding medication-related weight gain, emphasised the importance of strong therapeutic relationships in encouraging engagement with weight management discussions, and highlighted the value of timely, tailored advice. Conclusion This study provides novel insights into service users’ perspectives on weight management conversations within mental health care. It highlights factors that encourage service user engagement, such as the importance of healthcare professionals’ conversation skills, motivation, and the need for tailored advice. While the MECC approach has proven useful for offering brief advice, service users emphasised that these conversations must occur at appropriate times to maximize engagement. The study also proposes strategies to inform policy and practice for better integrating physical health support in mental health settings, offering specific implementation priorities to improve weight-related discussions.