[Family and psychiatric hospitalization in a general hospital]

This study aims to identify the reasons that lead relatives to hospitalize patients in a psychiatric unit of a general hospital. It is a qualitative study based on Alfred Schutz' phenomenological sociology. Fourteen relatives, each with one family member hospitalized, were interviewed from August to October 2009. The guiding question of the phenomenological interview was "What do you expect from psychiatric hospitalization in a general hospital?". Phenomenological sociology was used to understand and interpret the interviews. Statements showed three concrete categories, that lead to the reasons for: treatment guidelines and continuity; prospects for improvement; ideas about normality. This research shows the experiences of relatives, contributing with mental health professionals' reflection about their actions and about the involvement of families in a general hospital's psychiatric unit.