Quality of interactions influences everyday life in psychiatric inpatient care—patients’ perspectives

Abstract

Everyday life consists of daily activities that are taken for granted. It forms the foundation for human efforts and contains elements of both comfort and boredom. Because everyday life escapes no one, life in a psychiatric ward will become ordinary while staying there. This study aims to explore everyday life in psychiatric inpatient care based on patients’ experiences. We individually interviewed 16 participants with experiences of psychiatric inpatient care and analysed the data in accordance with the methods of grounded theory. Data collection and analysis continued in parallel in accordance with the method. Our results showed that everyday life is linked to the core category quality of interactions influences everyday life, and three constructed categories—staff makes the difference, looking for shelter in a stigmatizing environment, and facing a confusing care content—were related to the core category. Our results highlight the importance of ordinary relationships between staff and patients in psychiatric inpatient care. These results can be used to develop nursing interventions to improve psychiatric inpatient care and might also be used as a basis for reflective dialogues among staff.

Ways of understanding nursing in psychiatric inpatient care – A phenomenographic study

“…Based on our results, it can be assumed that patients admitted to psychiatric inpatient care are likely to meet individual staff members with qualitatively different ways of understanding the patient, nursing interventions and the goal of nursing. Patients have previously reported difficulties to understand the meaning and content of care in a psychiatric ward setting (Lilja & Hellzén, ; Molin et al, ; Mullen, ). We believe that a shared vision of nursing in psychiatric inpatient care could decrease patients' experiences of confusion and disconnection.…”

“…Specifically, nursing has been described as having a marginalized status (Holmberg, Caro, & Sobis, ), unclear role definition (Delaney & Johnson, ) and being invisible (Harrison, Hauck, & Ashby, ), all of which has led to difficulties in implementation of theories and models (Barker, ; Bladon, ). Furthermore, psychiatric inpatient care is often confusing from the patients' perspective, creating difficulties to understand the meaning and content of care (Lilja & Hellzén, ; Molin, Graneheim, & Lindgren, ).…”

The unnecessary suffering and abuse caused by healthcare professionals needs to stop: A study regarding experiences of abuse among female patients in a general psychiatric setting

“…In addition, the staff had a stigmatizing approach towards the patients and the ward atmosphere communicated a sense of discomfort. [7] Patients within psychiatric care, regardless of gender, who are subjected to abuse by healthcare workers, are vulnerable due to their mental ill-health. Being abused in an environment where you should feel safe and able to recover from your ill-health could be seen as victimization, which has to be stopped.…”

“…Healthcare, from a caring science perspective, aims to support the patients' health processes such as including experiences of well-being, of managing one's life project [1] and relieving suffering. [2] All healthcare is, however, not experienced as being caring by the patients [3][4][5][6][7][8] and the patients' suffering may even be caused by the healthcare services. [2,3] A study that highlighted suffering in relation to healthcare needs from the perspective of patients in hospital settings, has showed how this suffering was related to a struggle about these needs, which concerned their autonomy and how they felt distrusted or mistreated, powerless, fragmented and objectified.…”

Nursing care to psychiatric patients in a general hospital emergency / Cuidados de enfermagem ao paciente psiquiátrico na urgência de um hospital geral / Atención de enfermería a los pacientes psiquiátricos em uma emergência...

“…Além disso, confirmar os atos de cuidados de saúde mental parecem ajudar as pessoas a se sentirem melhor durante uma doença psicótica. Ter atenção às coisas simples podem aumentar a qualidade das interações e apoiar o desenvolvimento de um ambiente que pode apoiar a recuperação (13)(14)(15) .…”