The patients' view of life in a psychiatric hospital. A questionnaire study and associated methodological considerations.

In any assessment of hospital life, the patients' view is indispensable, but there is no generally accepted way of seeking it. In this study, the views of 258 patients in four 'traditional' English psychiatric hospitals were obtained by a questionnaire of 45 items supplemented by freehand comments. Their experience of fellow patients, the staff and the material and institutional aspects of hospital care were explored. Some of the benefits and problems of questionnaire use in this realm are discussed.