The Research of Family Support of Chronic Mental Patients and the Usage of Mental Rehabilitation Resources for Their Family：A Case Study of Rehabilitation Home

• Main Authors: YU, YU-CHING, 尤郁晴
• Other Authors: Chen, HSIU-HUI
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/3xsm9r

碩士 === 東海大學 === 社會工作學系 === 105 === Abstract This study aimed to investigate how family members accompanied chronic mental patients in response to disease treatment and rehabilitation, and to understand how family members used relevant rehabilitation resources to accompany the patients during their recovery process, based on which we suggested that, in their work of family service and maintenance, social workers should guide the family members that weakly support their patients. On the other hand, how the family members of the chronic mental patients used relevant resources to improve the quality of care was investigated in terms of ecological resources. Based on the objective of this research, semi-structured interviews of qualitative data analysis were used to interview 5 chronic mental disorder patients that lived in a rehabilitation home and 3 of their family members. Conclusion obtained by organizing and analyzing their experience was as follows: 1. Mental illness and medical treatment: chronic mental disorder patients may face medical conditions of “delayed medical treatment leading to serious illness” and poor self-medication practice. 2. Chronic mental patients and family support: from the perspective of chronic mental patients, family support, capable of satisfying individual needs at different levels, corresponded to 3 categories: “instrumental support”, which satisfied the need of physiological satisfaction and economic security; “emotional support”, which stabilized emotional connection and emotional maintenance; and “information support”. 3. Family members of chronic mental patients and support of mental rehabilitation-related resources: from the perspective of family members of chronic mental disorders, resources had two aspects, “family resources” and “rehabilitation home”. With richer family resources, a patient with chronicle mental disorders could lead a more stable life once returning to the communities or family, while the “rehabilitation home” offered family care and provided training for the patients, which enabled the patients to live independently in the future. Suggestion of this study based on research results are as follows: 1.Introspection of social Work Practice: social workers should return to their nature and deal with the communications between patients and their family members, and clarify thoughts of both parties from a third-party objective perspective. We suggest that social workers first understand the need of family life of patients suffering from chronic mental disorders, and then provide support, based on which the problems could be solved. 2.Suggestions for family members of chronic mental patients: once feeling tired and feeling like giving up in the process of accompanying chronic mental patients for medical treatment and rehabilitation, family members, the most important support for the patients, should certainly seek assistance. Patients without being accompanied by their family members would lose motivation to seek care in that the family member support is more effective in treatment than external resources. 3.An appeal to the community: mental disorders, like many chronic diseases, are not uncommon. We hope the society can better understand and care about the patients. We also call on the society to accept them with an open attitude.