Stigma toward the mentally ill in the general hospital: a qualitative study.
BACKGROUND
Stigma associated with mental illness is frequently reported in the community but there is little published information about stigma within general hospitals.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe the experience of stigma in patients and health professionals using a Liaison Psychiatry service in a general hospital.


METHODS
We used a grounded theory qualitative method to analyze audiotaped interviews of participants.


METHODS
A general hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.


METHODS
Ten participants, five patients and five referrers.


METHODS
The qualitative method generated various categories that made up the construct of "stigma" in the general hospital.


RESULTS
A central category of "Relating Mind to Matter" was developed and linked to the major categories of "It's a Scary Business," "It's All Hopeless," "She's One of Them," "Expressions of Relatedness," "You are Not Genuinely Ill" and "Playing by the Roles."


CONCLUSIONS
The presence, or suspicion, of a mental illness in a patient has a negative impact in the general hospital setting. The key experiences are silence, disbelief and invalidation. The category title "Relating Mind to Matter" refers to the tensions in the patient-health professional relationship and to the uncomfortable relationship between the mind and the body.
Liggins
Jackie
J
Department of Liaison Psychiatry, Middlemore Hospital, Private Bag 93311, Auckland 1, New Zealand. s.hatcher@auckland.ac.nz
Hatcher
Simon
S
D000328:Adult; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D011287:Prejudice; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations