Subjective Motives for Requesting In-Patient Treatment in Female with Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

BackgroundAnorexia nervosa is a severe psychiatric disorder mainly affecting women. Its treatment is long and accepted with much difficulty, in particular in-patient treatment.AimsTo describe the subjective motives of women with anorexia nervosa for requesting in-patient admission, from a qualitative analysis of application letters.MethodsParticipants were adult women (18 years and older) with anorexia nervosa who were admitted as in-patients in a referral hospital unit in France from January 2008 to December 2010. The application letters, prerequisites to admission, were studied by the interpretative phenomenological method of content analysis.Results63 letters have been analysed, allowing the identification of six themes related to requests for in-patient care: loss of control of behaviour, and of thoughts, mental exhaustion, isolation, inner struggle and fear of recovery.ConclusionsRequests for in-patient admission were motivated by very personal, subjective experiences, unrelated to medical reasons for admission. These results may help improve pre-admission motivational work with individuals, by basing it on their subjective experience.

Patient-controlled hospital admission in psychiatry: A systematic review

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Metasynthesis of the Views about Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescents: Perspectives of Adolescents, Parents, and Professionals

“…Crossing the perspectives of patients, families, and healthcare providers enables a better understanding of their shared representations of the disease and its treatment. In recent years we have conducted several qualitative studies exploring the intersecting viewpoints around the issues of obesity [21] and attempted suicide [22] in pediatric populations as well as on the topics of cancer [23] and AN [24] in adults.…”

Exploration of Friendship Experiences, before and after Illness Onset in Females with Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Study

“…For individuals with severe AN, issues regarding isolation and poor social support may be particularly poignant. Gorse et al [ 18 ] identify isolation as being a reason cited by individuals with AN for seeking hospital treatment, and inpatient care may become iatrogenically reinforcing by temporarily reducing isolation [ 19 ]. Individuals with severe and enduring AN report poor quality of life, particularly in the domains of interpersonal avoidance, with the illness having a negative impact on social life [ 20 ].…”