Inpatient self-management of bipolar disorder

As part of a grounded theory study of the self-management informational needs and activities of inpatients with bipolar disorder, an analysis was conducted to describe how hospitalized people with bipolar disorder manage their illness. Thirty-three people participated in semistructured, audiorecorded interviews that included questions about their self-management. Findings related to three areas: (a) factors that affect self-management, (b) patient-initiated self-management interventions, and (c) information believed by the participants to be important for other people with the disorder. Advances in the understanding of the self-management of people with bipolar disorder are pivotal to the development of strategies that may reduce, and perhaps one day prevent, relapse.