Bipolar disorder (BD) is a disorder categorized by
extreme shifts in mood. Its symptoms include episodes of
depression and mania
(significantly elevated mood). According to DSM-5
(Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual 5), there are two subtypes of bipolar disorder;
BD-I (episodes of manic
combined with depression) and BD-II (episodes of
hypomanic combined with
depression). BD’s lifetime is 1.3% in the Dutch adult
people and BD is related
to high health costs and joblessness, making it a
significant public
health issue. BD has an economic effect on society due to
its tremendous impact
on caregivers and patients. BD causes functional
impairment, such as
psychosocial or occupational impairment. Apart from
symptomatic recovery, BD
can be treated to overwhelmed these damages hence
improving a person’s quality of
life.
Clinical practice in mental health care is founded on
research evidence. Though, it is hard to apply research
findings to clinical
practice hence leading to an implementation gap.
Patients’ perspectives should
be researched and healthcare to bridge the gap between
clinical practice and
research. This research aimed to know the challenges BD
patients experience and
the implication of these challenges in research and
healthcare needs. The study
shows that the difficulties experienced by BD patients
and the research
and healthcare needs are interwoven, and to get a
comprehensive understanding,
it would be best if you combined them. This thorough understanding
will close the gap
between research and clinical practice.
Two qualitative studies were done to realize the needs
and challenges of patients with BD. The first one aimed
to formulate the list
of the research for BD from a patient’s perspective, and
the second study was
to yield a thoughtful of the care needs from the
the view of the patient. In
research needs study,
focus group discussions (FGDs) with thirty-five people
were conducted through a
questionnaire to express challenges in suffering from BD
and future hope and express
arising research needs from these aspirations and
difficulties. In care needs
study, a systematic qualitative survey of a nationwide
Dutch project involving
three BD patients were conducted to generate a practical
guideline for BD. Seven
FGDs were done between March and May 2016 to formulate BD
patients’ care needs,
with fifty-six total participants, including patients and
caregivers aged
eighteen years and above, both men and women.
In the study on care needs and on research needs,
patients expressed challenges relating to discovering the
precise treatment,
receiving the correct diagnosis, correct balance between
pharmacological and
non-pharmacological treatment, and search for personal,
functional, social, and clinical recovery. Needs expressed in both research
studies replicated these
challenges. Another study finding is that patients do not only develop
disorder-specific requirements, but they also devise
generic conditions. This
research’s limitation is that we could not distinguish
between caregivers and
patients because they together participated in the FGDs.
Another limitation is
that the research was only done in Netherland, limiting
the transferability to
other countries.
This study is critical because it contributes to the work
on research and care requirements from a patient viewpoint. Therapy to help a
child
suffering from a Specific condition for BD can be done by
supporting him/her in
searching for individualized treatment, preventing
incorrect or late diagnosis,
and giving a backup on social, functional, clinical, and
personal recovery. Healthcare
needs that are generic concern healthcare system,
communication and health
professionals. The explication of both generic and
disorder-specific conditions show
that clinical practice rules should address and integrate
to be responsive
to the caregivers’ and patients’ needs.
Reference
Maassen, E. F., Regeer, B. J., Regeer, E. J., Bunders, J.
F., & Kupka, R. W. (2018). The challenges of living
with bipolar disorder:
a qualitative study of health care and research
implications. International
journal of bipolar disorders, 6(1),
1-10. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/s40345-018-0131-y