Feelings Experienced at Hospital Admission by Inpatients Involuntarily Admitted under Japan’s System of Psychiatric Care

Abstract

Background & Aims:The purpose of this study was to gain insights into how patients experience involuntary admission under Japan' s system of psychiatric care. To this end, patients who had been involuntarily admitted and were scheduled for discharge were interviewed about their experiences at hospital admission to clarify the feelings of such patients' experience on the day of admission. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 12 inpatients who had been involuntary admitted to the hospital and consented to participate. The interview data was analysed qualitatively and descriptively. Results: Feeling of involuntary admitted patients were summarised into five thematic categories: [Life╱work commitments are bigger priorities than admission], [Surprise and anger at being deceived by family], [Recognising one' s emotionally driven behaviour], [Resigning to and accepting intangible exogenous forces], and [Unconvinced of explanation by health care professionals on admission]. Conclusion: Even after visiting to the hospital, patients remained clearly committed to their life╱work, which were their bigger priorities than admission. The patients also felt that they had been deceived by their family. Issues regarding decision-making regarding hospitalization emerged. As they were aware of their own situation, they resigned to and accepted the inpatient treatment. As an initiative for outpatients at the time of non-voluntary hospitalisation, our results suggest that support is required for deciding treatment plans while sharing the opinions of both patients╱family members and health care professionals while respecting what is important for the patients.