‘It Helped Me to Disconnect My Mind from the Problems’: The Subjective Experiences of People with Schizophrenia Taking Part in a Concurrent Exercise Program

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the subjective experiences of a concurrent exercise program designed to improve both physical and mental health, through participation, for people with schizophrenia. Participants diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 35, 41.6 ± 10.3 years) received an intensive concurrent exercise program for a 5-month duration, three times a week, at out-of-hospital facilities. Qualitative data was collected via individual, semi-structured interviews, organized, and analyzed with thematic analysis. The findings highlight the participants’ perspective in supporting an out-of-hospital exercise program as an acceptable and beneficial adjunct to usual treatment in people with schizophrenia for holistic health improvements.

Acknowledgments

Our special thanks to Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council because the facilities of the Physical Activity and Health Research Center are essential to carrying out the intervention with exercise. Finally, yet importantly, thanks to all the participants for their willingness that has made this project possible, to all the undergraduate students who collaborated on this project, and to IBJ7 for his selfless friendship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness “Fondo de Investigación Sanatoria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (PI16/01022). The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, PIF19/40) with a predoctoral grant supported MTE. AS was supported by a Fellowship from the Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno. The Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz provides the facilities of the Physical Activity and Health Research Center for exercise intervention.