Health workers’ perceptions about the environment in a mental health unit in the hospital context

Abstract

The ambience seeks to provide users, family members, and workers with interactive, welcoming, and inclusive physical spaces that value subjectivity and enhance the protagonism of individuals. However, it is understood that there are challenges to its implementation, especially in mental health. Thus, the question was: What are the perceptions of health workers about the ambience in a mental health unit? The study aims to understand the perceptions of health workers about the environment in a Mental Health Unit of a general hospital. This is a descriptive and exploratory research, carried out between May and August 2023, in a Mental Health Unit of a general hospital, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. Semi-structured interviews were used with 19 health workers working in the unit. For data analysis, Minayo’s Thematic Content Analysis was adopted. The data were categorized according to the three axes of ambience. Three thematic categories were obtained, namely: ambience as a space that aims at comfort; ambience as a space for encounters between subjects; ambience as a facilitator of work processes. Potentialities and challenges in relation to the ambience in the mental health unit were highlighted, which influence the provision of comprehensive and humanized care to users, as well as the work activities of some workers. It is suggested that research be carried out on the ambience in psychosocial care services to provide scientific subsidies that facilitate its implementation and, thus, contribute to the provision of comprehensive and equitable care to users and decent working conditions for workers.