Myung Sun Hyun; Young Hee Kim; Hee Sun Kang; Kyoung A Nam

doi:10.4040/jkan.2012.42.2.226

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Original Article
The Lived Experience of Stigma among Mentally Ill Persons: Myung Sun Hyun, Young Hee Kim, Hee Sun Kang, Kyoung A Nam; Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 2012;42(2):226-235.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2012.42.2.226
Published online: April 30, 2012

¹Professor, College of Nursing, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea.

²Team Leader, EUM Hospital, Yongin, Korea.

³Associate Professor, Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea.

⁴Associate Professor, Division of Nursing, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Nam, Kyoung A. Division of Nursing, Hallym University, 1 Hallymdaehak-gil, Chuncheon Gangwon-do, 200-702, The Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-33-248-2717, Fax: +82-33-248-2734, namka@hallym.ac.kr

• Received: February 22, 2011 • Accepted: April 26, 2012

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Abstract
NOTES
REFERENCES

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective experiences of stigma among mentally ill persons.
Methods
Phenomenological methodology was used for the study. Participants were twelve people with mental illness enrolled at the S community mental health center in GyeongGi-Do. Data were collected via in-depth interviews from August 30 to October 1, 2010 and analyzed using Colaizzi's framework.
Results
Four themes and sixteen formulated meanings were identified for the stigma experiences of participants with mental illness. The four themes were 'Incapable of struggling against unfair treatment', 'Living as an outsider', 'Being constrained by oneself', 'Being in suspense over disclosure of oneself'.
Conclusion
The results from this study underscore the need for an educational and awareness programs to reduce public stigma among the general population and self-stigma among people with mental illness. In addition, efforts are also needed to prioritize mental illness stigma as a major public health issue at the government and community level.
Keywords: Mentally ill person; Stigmatization; Life experiences; Qualitative research

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(2010-0006812).

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Table 1

Formulated Meanings and Themes

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The Lived Experience of Stigma among Mentally Ill Persons

J Korean Acad Nurs. 2012;42(2):226-235. Published online April 30, 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2012.42.2.226

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The Lived Experience of Stigma among Mentally Ill Persons

Table 1

Formulated Meanings and Themes

Table 1 Formulated Meanings and Themes