[Relatives of patients with mental disorders: experiencing care at a psychosocial care center].
This study aimed at learning how relatives of patients with mental disorders have experienced dealing with a mental health care service. The exploratory and descriptive method was used with a qualitative approach. Data collection was performed using semi-structured interviews. Subjects were six family members who had been living for over three years with the process of having a mentally ill relative. Data analysis allowed us to infer that relatives who closely follow the patient had to deal with the knowledge acquired from their day-today experience and were subject to rejection by other family and community members. As regards the psychosocial care center, the relatives felt welcomed in their complaints, receiving a unique treatment; however, they did not knowthe mechanisms for social participation, which points to a deficiency in the service as it should stimulate forms of insertion into the community and the strengthening of the patients' rights as citizens.
Departamento de Enfermagem da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Botucatu, SP, Brasil. btmoreno@terra.com.br
Vânia
V
Moreno
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult