Life at a rural psychiatric hostel : The experience of a group of male residents

The study reported in this thesis describes and analyses the experience of 15 men with long term mental illness, living and/or working at a rural farm and hostel complex. The research was set in the context of recent studies and literature focussing on the transfer of care of people with mental illness from large psychiatric hospitals to community based care and the consequent quality of life issues. A phenomenological approach was chosen as the most appropriate for the study, in order to understand the meaning of the residents' experience. Data was obtained from three sources: in-depth interviews with 2 key informants, 50 hours participant observation involving 15 residents and 8 staff and focussed or semi-structured interviews with 10 participants. The Ethnograph computer program was utilised to facilitate and expedite analysis of the resulting large volume of data.

Grantor dc:publisher

Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia

Year dc:date

1995

Author dc:creator

• Van Aken, Rosalie R.

• Mentally ill
• Care
• Rehabilitation
• Alternative treatment.
• Psychiatry and Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1461

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-2462