[Patient opinions on the experiences of psychiatric hospitalization: a qualitative study]

The evaluation of the patients' perspective of psychiatric admission is useful to define what is the therapeutic milieu and important to improve treatment quality.

This study aimed to explore the patients' perspective of psychiatric admission to a residential unit for intensive rehabilitation treatment.

A questionnaire, assessing the patients' experiences of psychiatric admission developed from previous studies, has been administered to a series of inpatients at the rehabilitation unit "La Luna", University of Ferrara, Department of Mental Health.

40 patients (20 depressed and 20 schizophrenic) participated in the study. Some dimensions, such as protection from the external world (85% of depressed and 65% of schizophrenic) and opportunity to recover their own existence (75% of depressed and 65% of schizophrenic) emerged as the main experiences. The subjects (85% of depressed and 70% of schizophrenic) also reported to have a good relationship (caring and empathic) with the staff and other patients and to perceive a sense of universality, without the anxiety of living with other severe patients (65% of depressed and 55% of schizophrenic). Schizophrenic patients felt to be limited by the experience of admission more than the depressed (20% of depressed and 60% of schizophrenic, p<0.05). The most influential factor of negative or positive experience was the quality of relationship with the staff and other patients.

This study outlines the importance of therapeutic relationship in patients' perspective of psychiatric admission and suggests broader attention to human quality on therapeutic approach.