Interpretations of illness and meanings attributed by people experiencing homelessness with mental disorders

ABSTRACT Objective to present how people experiencing homelessness and living with mental disorders interpret their illness process. Method this qualitative study employs a theoretical-methodological approach rooted in the anthropology of health. Narrative interviews were conducted and analyzed using Fritz Schütze's framework. Interviews were carried out with five individuals experiencing homelessness and mental disorders, who were supported by a Street Outreach Clinic in capital city in southern Brazil during the second half of 2019. Results perspectives emerged related to depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts, sensory-perceptual experiences, "being nervous," psychotic episodes, and drug use. The findings revealed that participants received heterogeneous psychiatric diagnoses. Their (re)interpretations of the psychiatric explanatory system, shaped by their suffering experiences, and their unique ways of addressing, coping with, and legitimizing these experiences were influenced by cultural, social, political, and economic systems. Final considerations and implications for practice the study highlights the importance of understanding illness as connected to existential suffering, as an approach solely based on symptoms limits care possibilities. It reinforces the need for care practices that consider individuals' life contexts and subjectivities, emphasizing interdisciplinary and culturally sensitive approaches.