Perception of psychiatric hospitalization by patients diagnosed with schizophrenia

Abstract

The psychiatric hospital although is no longer the center of mental health attention, even so is a commonly used resource
in cases of serious illnesses such as schizophrenia. Thus, this study aims to understand the perception of the person with
schizophrenia on the full admission in one of these institutions. It is a descriptive exploratory study, of qualitative approach,
whose data were collected in a psychiatric hospital through a semi-structured interview. Eight people, between the ages of
24 and 52, were interviewed; some with other diagnostics related to schizophrenia and all of them had been previously
hospitalized. The findings imply that the psychiatric hospital, a gateway to health assistance in a psychotic crisis, is perceived
as a place to restore health and means to access food, necessary medicines and hygiene facilities.