A nursing experience in a patient with antipsychotics-induced overweight

The purpose of this article is to describe a nursing experience with a patient with schizophrenia who had antipsychotics-induced overweight. The authors assessed the patient's health condition and provided weight management to reduce her hallucinations as well as her body weight between May 1 and June 10, 2004. Three nursing problems had been identified as follows: disturbed sensory perception, imbalanced nutrition, and ineffective health maintenance. During the nursing process, the authors established a rapport relationship with the patient and her mother, educated them in skills for reducing hallucinations, and designed an individual body weight management program. After the interventions, the patient was able to positively face her illness, effectively use methods to reduce the impact of hallucinations, and successfully lose 5.5 kg. From this perspective, an individual body weight management program can be an effective intervention for nurses to care for this group of patients.