Experiences of male service users in an inpatient mental health rehabilitation service

Men and women accessing inpatient mental health wards may have particular needs, therefore services should provide gender-sensitive care. This article details a service evaluation that aimed to understand the experiences of male service users on an inpatient mental health rehabilitation ward in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five men and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified from the interview data: relational safety; a place of peace and safety; ‘coming back out of my shell’ – the transformative potential of rehabilitation; and care through a gendered lens. The participants discussed broadly positive experiences of rehabilitation services, although some of them felt that their emotional needs were dismissed. They reported some gendered health experiences, but often had difficulty identifying gender-specific health needs. The reasons that men did not identify any gender-specific health needs are unclear and may warrant further research.