Abstract:
Background: In South Africa the Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002 direct district hospitals to render 72-hour assessment of the MHCU’s. In Vhembe district 72- hour assessment is implemented in public general hospital.
Purpose: The study determined the experiences of family members regarding 72-hour assessment admission of MHCU’s at selected hospital in Vhembe District.
Methodology: The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The study population consisted of the family members of the MHCU’s admitted for 72-hour assessment. Purposive sampling was used to select 10 family members. This study used in-depth individual interviews to collect data until data saturation was reached and analysed using Tesch’s steps. Ethical consideration and measures to ensure trustworthiness were given attention to throughout the study.
Results: Three themes emerged from analysed data which is negative experiences of family’s members, family member’s experience on coping mechanism and structural constraints.
Recommendations: This study recommends further research study on the development of a model to support the family members in their caregiving role
The study recommends further research study on the experiences of the health care professional regarding 72-hour assessment of a MHCU’s
