A patient diagnosed with a serious mental illness died suddenly at age 52.The patient lived in the community for 5 years without relapse and held supported employment the past 6 months.The distressed family asks,"How could this happen?" Which response by the nurse accurately reflects research and addresses the family's question?

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The family is in distress.Because they do not understand his death,they are less able to accept it and seek specific information to help them understand what happened.Persons with serious mental illness die an average of 25 years prematurely.Contributing factors include failing to provide for their own health needs (e.g.forgetting to take medicine),inability to access or pay for care,higher rates of smoking,poor diet,criminal victimization,and stigma.The most accurate answer indicates that seriously mentally ill people are at much higher risk of premature death for a variety of reasons.Staff would not have been surprised that the patient died prematurely,and they would not attribute his death to random,undetected medical problems.Although the cause of death will not be reliably established until the autopsy,this response fails to address the family's need for information.

A Patient Diagnosed with a Serious Mental Illness Died Suddenly