MIXED WARDS IN PSYCHIATRY: RECORDS OF NURSING CARE ON A NEW ASSISTANCE SPACE IN BRAZIL (1996-2002)

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the implications of implementing “mixed wards” in the design of assistance space of the Psychiatry Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB), from the perspective of the nursing staff. Method: Sociohistorical study, whose primary sources were written and oral documents produced by 5 professional nursing staff members. Results: The distribution of patients by gender in mixed wards gave rise to a distribution by clinical presentation, which led to the emergence of a differentiated therapeutic space facilitating psychosocial rehabilitation called “open-door ward”. The nursing staff still took roles of surveillance and control, but had greater freedom for the planning of psychosocial rehabilitation. Conclusion: Mixed wards worked as a strategy to cohabit without sexual segregation, allowing for the existence of a new therapeutic area, which ended, where possible, with the asylum model.