This study examines the psychological help-seeking process associated with hospitalized male patients. The participants were 17 male patients. Their experiences of asking nurses for help were obtained through semi-structured interviews.
The results of data analysis, based on the modified grounded theory approach, produced 15 concepts and six categories. Concerning help for problems directly linked to the purpose of hospitalization, the patients felt that “seeking help from the nurse was natural for them.” However, in other cases, they felt that “seeking help from the nurses was confusing” at the beginning of hospitalization. In addition, these patients believed that if they grew accustomed to their lives in the hospital, then they would “hesitate to seek help” and eventually “give up making individual requests.” With regard to those who remained hospitalized for longer periods of time, two contrasting cases were found. In the first case, if the patients positively evaluated the nursing that they had received so far, they felt that they could “seek help easily,” whereas those who negatively evaluated the nursing that they had received so far felt “reluctant to seek help.” Finally, for the patients who were not accustomed to hospitalization, the nurses’ informed consent regarding help seeking,
in addition to the orientation of hospitalization, enabled the patients to seek help in times of need.