The lived experiences of mental health clinicians at a public psychiatric hospital in Haiti

Abstract

This study examined the lived experiences of mental health care providers at a state psychiatric hospital in Haiti. The theoretical framework chosen for this study is structuration theory. Five mental health providers from the hospital participated in the interviews. Semi-structured questions guided them through different lived experiences and the structural aspect of care provided by mental health clinicians. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was applied to analyze the transcripts and identify superordinate and emergent themes. The superordinate themes developed through the analysis are: (a) Resources in the hospital, (b) Inpatient/outpatient treatment, and (c) Culture and mental health. The findings are: (a) The participants reported that the hospital needs more human and material resources to provide quality care, and (b)Participants believed the connection between treatment and culture made their job more complicated. The findings indicated the need to construct a health procedure platform for supplementary maladies and to incorporate psychiatric health care as a main health care sector. The participants reported the patients' cultural backgrounds are prospectively important in the treatment process. According to the interviewees, the services are very limited because of a poor organizational structure. Therefore, it is important for the Department of Public Health to intervene and establish structures for mental health services that are both efficient and safe for mental health providers to function properly in the facility.