Genesis Chorwe-Sungani^1*, Mbumba Namelo², Vincent Chiona², Ditress Nyirongo²

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¹ Community and Mental Health Nursing Department, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
² Zomba Mental Hospital, Zomba, Malawi.
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Abstract: Family members of a mentally ill person play a crucial role in the recovery of their sick relative. They care for their sick relatives at home and in hospital. Some views of family members indicate that they get satisfaction from participating in nursing care of their sick relative. The aim of this study was to describe the views of family members about nursing care of psychiatric patients admitted at a mental hospital in Malawi. A qualitative study design was used and data were collected from ten participants through in-depth interviews. Ethical approval was granted by relevant authorities. Data were analysed using Colaizzi method. The findings fell into the following four themes that emerged: family participation in nursing care; nurses’ skills and experience in caring; respect for psychiatric patients and interactions and information sharing. This study offers valuable information about the views of families regarding nursing care of psychiatric patients. They are involved in the care of their sick relatives although there is lack of effective cooperation between them and nurses. The lack of collaboration made families receive inadequate information about their sick relative. Therefore, it is imperative that nurses are competent in implementing family involvement in nursing care.

Keywords: Family Involvement, Views, Nursing Care, Psychiatric Patient

Cite this paper: Chorwe-Sungani, G. , Namelo, M. , Chiona, V. and Nyirongo, D. (2015) The Views of Family Members about Nursing Care of Psychiatric Patients Admitted at a Mental Hospital in Malawi. Open Journal of Nursing, 5, 181-188. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2015.53022.

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