[Satisfaction of relatives with the process of deinstitutionalization]

During the last eight years we arranged an extensive process of change in Eckardtsheim, a part of Bethel in the city of Bielefeld. As part of the process of deinstitutionalization we tried to change institutional needs into the needs for help and support of the individuals. One important part of this process was working with family members of our clients in a variety of intervention strategies. We evaluated the relatives within the concept of customer orientation in different viewpoints. All family members got a mailed questionnaire (n = 1,068) in which they were questioned on their expectations and satisfaction with the most important aspects concerning the cooperation between family members and the treatment of the patients. We implemented support programs for the family members and asked them to judge these programs and the general process of change in the institution. 42% answered, mostly brothers and sisters. We received general support for our programs with a lot of individual criticism to certain parts of the process. Brothers and sisters were sceptical about deinstitutionalization of patients who had been institutionalized for decades. Working with families in these situations demands different ways of intervention, like information about the hospitalized family members and about the institutional change process as well as individualized support for the family members themselves. Services for the family members of long term hospitalized patients are extremely important and necessary for a positive outcome in the process of deinstitutionalization.