The perception of the admission procedure at Mount Carmel Hospital : involuntary admitted patients' views : a qualitative study

Abstract

The aim ofthis study was to determine the perception of involuntary admitted patients regarding the admission procedure a Mount Carmel Hospital. A qualitative, descriptive research design was used to achieve the aim and objectives of this study. The data was collected by conducting a semi-structured interview with six patients hospitalized at the Mixed Admission Ward at Mount Carmel Hospital. The researcher designed the tool used during the interview after an extensive review of the literature. Analyzing the data consisted of listening several times to the audiotapes prior to transcribing them. On reading the interview transcriptions, emergent themes were identified. All of the participants mentioned that they feared being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The participants had negative attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatric hospitals but after spending sometime in hospital all of them agreed that they needed help. All six of them felt angry and frustrated towards the person who sectioned them, with one of them asserting that she did not deserve such treatment. Stigma of mental illness and hospital was another emergent theme. A topic discussed by all the participants was that of being stripped of their personal belongings, these findings were discussed in relation to the literature. The study findings are considered to contribute to a greater understanding of involuntary admitted patients' perception of their admission procedure. Recommendations were made to ensure that the patients' views and opinions are addressed in the future.