130 Chapter 7 Sample We conducted 52 semi-structured individual interviews: 28 with persons with severe mental illness in long-term mental healthcare (10 of which in a long-term inpatient setting), 10 family members and 14 professionals. Four homogeneous focus groups included persons with severe mental illness receiving care from assertive community based services (n=5) and inpatient services (n=6) respectively, one included family members (n=4) and one included professionals (n=6). The mixed focus group included two persons with severe mental illness, two family members and two professionals. Interviews lasted a mean 71 minutes (range 23-195) for people with severe mental illness; 86 minutes for family (range 58-101) and 75 minutes for professionals (range 48-92). Focus groups lasted about two hours each. To illustrate the general profile of our sample, table 1 lists sociodemographic characteristics recorded from all unique study participants (interviews and focus groups combined), and clinical characteristics from people with severe mental illness taken afterwards from case files with permission. Persons with severe mental illness in our sample were middle aged on average, mostly had attained a low educational level and mostly were on benefits. Half had regular daytime activities outside their household, and a sizable proportion of the sample lived in a supported housing or inpatient rehabilitation unit. The average illness duration was 25 years, and most had a history of psychosis with multiple episodes or unremitting illness. Most had a primary DSM-5 diagnosis of a Schizophrenia spectrum disorder and about half had a (comorbid) substance use disorder outside smoking (36). Family and professionals in our sample were heterogeneous in their role and duration of involvement in care. Table 1: Demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants. Persons with SMI (n=39a) Family (n=14b) Professionals (n=21c) N/ median1 %/ range1 N/ median1 %/ range1 N/ median1 %/ range1 Age (years)* 2 49 34-65 54 33-77 54 25-68 Sex - male - female 21 18 54 46 6 8 43 57 8 13 38 62 Highest level of education attained 2,3 - low - medium - high 25 10 4 64 26 10 4 6 4 29 43 29 3 5 12 14 24 57 Housing status - Living alone - Living with family - Sheltered housing / assisted living - Long-term inpatient rehabilitation unit 15 6 4 14 39 15 10 36 5 9 36 64 6 15 29 71 [continued on next page]
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