Lived Experience of Hospitalized Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning their illness had for patients with schizophrenia. In-depth interviews were conducted on 8 patients selected from the outpatient department of a private mental hospital in a large metropolitan area (Five males and 3 females ranging in age from 41 to 71 participated. The number of hospitalizations ranged from 6 to 20). The audio taped interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological approach to foster participants' full expression of the experienced situations. Nineteen categories were extracted from the interviews; these were grouped into five subcategories: experiences of schizophrenia; experience of daily life in hospital; relationship with people in communities outside hospital; relationship with family and other patients; and own view of mental illness.
Finding revealed that patients with schizophrenia perceived the illness as an agony as they were often misunderstood by others. They felt separated in time and place from their surroundings and they grieved this. Other findings showed that patients felt compelled to follow the hospital routine. They felt much in common with other patients with schizophrenia. Participants also noted experiencing profound loneliness.
The findings will assist caregivers in understanding the inner feelings experienced by patients with schizophrenia. Further research is needed to confirm if these feelings are found in a larger and more diverse sample.