Institutional Care and the Mentally Handicapped

First published in 1986, Institutional Care and the Mentally Handicapped is a historical record of institutions at one stage of their development. The book is divided into four parts. Part one examines the development and history of institutions, and the methods used by the author for this study. Part two explores the structure of ideas in one institution. Part three discusses the structure of social action in the institution, and the final part examines the general nature of institutions in modern society. This book will be a valuable read for students and researchers of social work, sociology, and disability studies.

Preface 1. The institution 2. The Jane Eagle Hospital study 3. The structure of the classification of wards 4. The meaning of the classification of patients: mixtures and anomalies 5. The meaning of the classification of patients: organic analogies 6. The ward system as a source of knowledge: nurse training 7. Mealtimes: variations in activity patterns and between wards 8. Nurses' control strategies: three case studies 9. Conclusion