Hospitalism

Hospitalism is a series of psychological and somatic disorders that are provoked by a person's long-term presence in a medical institution away from close people and their own home. This concept is most determined by hospitalism in adults, and in children the phenomenon of hospitalism is manifested as a psychopathic and physical malorazhitost, which is born from the very infancy and continues as the child grows up, under certain circumstances - as a result of lack of adequate communication between the child and mother and the lack of elementsUpbringing.

The syndrome of hospitalism is manifested by the slowdown in development, the difficulty for children in mastering the basic skills of self-care and management of one's own body, the underdevelopment of the speech apparatus, the reduced level of adaptation to the environment and society, the loss of interest in working life and labor skills in general, low resistance to infectious agents and a penchant forChronization of pathological processes in the body. It is in childhood that the phenomena of hospitalism are long and often irreversible. In the most severe cases, with non-treatment and prolonged psychological depression, the syndrome of hospitalism leads to the death of the individual.

Hospitalism is in the psychology of the phenomenon of lagging, the term was first introduced by the Austro-American psychologist Renee Spitsem. It was during a long time period that he conducted research - he watched the children in the hospital, without finding a mother nearby. Thanks to the origin of research, the name "hospitalism" arose. Much later, the concept gained an expansion and began to include not only parting in health indicators, but also a general lack of interest of the mother to her child, and this can happen even if they are constantly in direct proximity to each other.

Hospitalism: What is it?

Hospitalism in adults occurs when a person is in the hospital for a long time, the syndrome of the "chronic ill" is formed psychologically, his stay practically turns into the standard of life and the person does not think himself in a different environment - the perception of the world is distorted, especially evident in old age. Unaccustomed to existence outside the hospital walls, a person commits all actions and deeds for the speedy return to a medical hospital.

Such prolonged stay of patients, with already developed mental changes, in inpatient facilities, further adversely affects the prediction of the somatic disease with which the patient initially enters. Even the persistent clinical period of remission is not always accompanied by the renewal of the social and labor adaptation, and the adaptive capacity is reduced directly in proportion to the length of the patient's stay in the hospital. In particular, a long daily stay in a psychiatric institution increases the risk of disability of such patients, the impact is much more detrimental and destructive than the mental illness itself. When the period of stay, not reaching the mark of 5 - 10 months, there are only a few manifestations of hospitalism;With a duration of 10 to 15 months - the manifestations reach the phase of the formed disease, called - the syndrome of hospitalism;The most difficult situation and the severity of the symptom complex with a temporary range of stay in a medical institution for more than 15 months or more. Conclusion - the less time was spent in the hospital, the greater the chances of keeping the patient conscious of themselves in the social plan.

There are several variations in the deviation of the psyche in sickness syndrome of hospitalism:

- Deprivatization desocialization syndrome( it is formed rather slowly and step-by-step, with prolonged isolation of patients in psychiatric hospitals).

- Syndrome of paternalistic subordination or obsession to be a patient( reflection of the symptom complex and the result of systematic custody and excessive patronage by medical personnel).

- Syndrome of pharmacogenic psycho-emotional and social personal regression( the most lightning development is observed, unlike other subspecies of hospitalism, often against the background of intensification of therapeutic influence with the help of neuroleptic drugs and with excessive doses of psychotropic drugs).

- Mixed combined version.

Hospitalism: causes of

The causes of hospitalism are the same at any age, include the following list:

- prolonged hospitalization and isolation of a particular person from communicating with close and dear people, friends, communicating only with medical personnel;

- lack of interest in their lives and deeds by their next of kin;

- a risk factor is the presence of chronic diseases, which causes a long time to undergo a course of medical procedures;

- a provoking factor - elderly age, especially for single old people( in case of illness such a person remains alone with his life's litigation, without support from the external environment and from relatives, especially emotional support is important).In specialized institutions( nursing homes and closed boarding houses), undoubtedly adequate care is provided for the care of such a cohort of people, but lack of love and attention is difficult to compensate for by outsiders.

- infant and young children's age. In children's shelters, boarding schools of various types, the houses of the baby, the syndrome of hospitalism is especially pronounced, since the lack of personnel for the full-fledged servicing of children, the appearance of due full attention and care of employees, the development of certain skills of adaptation in society as a whole in life. Not only in the case of excommunication from the mother, but also in case of unwillingness, disinterestedness of the mother, joint living and staying together all the time.

- stay of children and adults in health centers, as a principle is created by the type of hospital, the situation and discomfort are correlated with hospitals, psychological pressure is influenced by medical procedures and causes fear and subconscious psychological blockade.

Hospitalism: Symptoms and Signs

The syndrome of hospitalism is manifested by the following symptoms:

- The development of children slows down, difficulties in mastering their own body skills, inhibition of the formation of the speech apparatus and lag in the initial mastery of speech in general from peers, poor development of motor activity, especiallyWalk.

- At the youngest age: in infants, weight loss, excessive drowsiness, mild cries and unexplained crying, lack of response to the actions performed around, the baby does not respond to sound stimuli, does not follow the movements visually, there is a retardation, passivity, Poverty of facial expressions, the coordination abilities of the eyes suffer.

- Decreased level of adaptive opportunities in the surrounding world and society as a whole.

- Reduced resistance to infectious agents, there is a tendency to chronic diseases.

- Loss of interest in working life: the desire to sit back is clearly expressed, the negative attitude towards work and opportunities is working, the work skills can be completely leveled, there is an affective indifference, and an extremely negative attitude towards discharge from the hospital.

- Reducing sociability and deteriorating relationships with surrounding people, it becomes very difficult to establish contacts and it is almost impossible to create new ones.

- Often there are meaningless monotonous, often repetitive movements of an obsessive nature( for example, swaying the trunk to the sides, screwing up eyes, etc.).

- Emotionally people are impoverished, actually remaining phlegmatic to what is happening around.

- In elderly people, brain functions progress rapidly and worsen: memory, adequate thinking, awareness of what is happening.

- General signs: lethargy, exhaustion, slow motor skills, stiffness, rigid affect, lack of initiative, carelessness, monotony of actions, stiffness.

Hospitalism in children

Hospitalism is a term in psychology that is interpreted differently in children and adults. In children, the phenomenon of hospitalism manifests itself as a psychopathic and physical malorazhitost, which is born, even from the very infancy and continues as the child grows up, under certain circumstances, as a result of the lack of adequate communication between the child and the mother and the lack of elements of upbringing.

Manifestations in children include:

- lethargy, inactivity, exhaustion;

- poor appetite and sleep disorders;

- children have an unhappy appearance;

- characterized by bouts of causeless fever;

- lack of sucking skills in infants and underdevelopment of reflexes in general;

- deterioration of the child's physical condition;

- excessive susceptibility to diseases;

- high mortality rate;

- Muscular hypotension in toddlers;

- infant "marasmus";

- obsessive monotonous movements( body swings - self-pumping, sucking the tip of blankets, the baby beats his head on solid objects);

- night and day urinary incontinence, calming;

- lack of eye tracking for the toy, there is no reaction to the conversation and the adult's voice when communicating, there is no "walking" as a response to affectionate attitude;

- delayed development of the psyche and violation of the harmony of the formation of nervous activity;

- low anthropometric development and frequent rickets;

- inability to walk;

- mimetic depletion.

This symptomatic complex is reversible, if the child returns to the mother, the symptoms disappear completely within 2-3 weeks.

The phenomenon of hospitalism in childhood is associated with the distortion of values ​​in modern society, in which the career growth of women is encouraged to create material security. Mom is present only formally - there is no established mental contact and proximity of mother and child, but there is detachment, ignorance of the baby's needs, his interests, abilities and the ability to develop them.

Hospitalism: treatment

Hospitalism in treatment in different age cohorts is very different, and since the manifestations and causes are quite different, the ways to resolve this psychological problem are different. It is important to carry out diagnostic measures in a timely manner and to start an adequate, maximally effective psychologically directed treatment, especially in children, since the death rate among children is the highest.

Treatment of hospitalization syndrome includes the following activities:

- In children : pedagogical systematized correction, work with a psychologist to eliminate all signs of hospitalization, enrich the environment of the child, intensify the elements of communication between peers( for preschool children) and adults. If hospitalism has arisen against the backdrop of hospital treatment, then it is required to return the young patient home, to the family womb, and especially first and foremost to the mother or the person who replaces it, or organize a joint 24-hour stay with the mother together.

- In adults : elimination of the cause( curing of the underlying causative disease, due to which a person has fallen into a hospital bed or in case of chronic illness, is preferably treated on an outpatient basis, under the supervision of close( if possible) relatives with correction by the attending physician. Specialist - psychotherapist, if necessary - with a psychiatrist, preferably avoiding psychiatric hospitals, since such therapeutic actions can lead to the oppositeof inverse result, provoking new conditions for disease progression.