Visiting in a mental hospital: an Indian study.
On the assumption that moral obligations of the family towards the mentally ill are still strong and that the tertiary support systems share but a small part of the burden, an investigation to understand the pattern of visiting in the relatives of patients was taken up. Sixty visitors (to male and female patients) aged between 20-65 years old were interviewed. Geographical distance, job, expense incurred and presence of young children at home were found to be definite determinants of frequency of visits. The patients' occupational status, duration of illness and history of earlier hospitalisation were added indicators. The results also suggest family size to have a plausible influence on visiting.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D014789:Visitors to Patients / Q000523:psychology*