A phenomenological study of hospitalization in the psychiatric ward for the first time: a qualitative study from Iran

Previous studies have shown that the patients’ satisfaction with the psychiatric ward is associated with better outcomes. To explore the lived experience of patients admitted to the psychiatric ward for the first time. This research was a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach that was conducted from January 2020 to January 2021 in Iran. Eleven in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Patients were interviewed about their experience of hospitalization three months after discharge from psychiatric ward. The data were analyzed using MAXQDA-2020 software. Four themes were obtained from interviews, including “other psychiatric patients”, “hospital as prison”, “medical staff” and “feelings about oneself”. Each theme included several categories. The theme of “other psychiatric patients” included three categories, namely healthy parts, pathological parts and upsetting. The theme of” hospital as prison” included categories, such as physical restraint , feeling imprisoned , and coercion . The theme of “medical staff” included these categories: authority, trust, professional attitude , and indifference . The theme of “feelings about oneself” included such categories: self-blaming and concerns about stigma . According to the findings of this study, negative appraisal about psychiatric hospitals was dominant.