Dialysis-dependency: the reformulated or remnant person.
Being dependent on dialysis is a potentially overwhelming experience where life as previously known is permanently altered. A dialysis-dependent individual may reformulate their identify or perceive that they are a remnant of their former self. This paper will explore and expand Morse and Penrod's (1999) model as a useful way to understand how a person might reconstruct their identify. Grounded in a narrative methodology, interviews of those on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were thematically analysed. It was found that dialysis dependency brings an acknowledgment of a lost past, an inescapable present and an unknowable future, filtered through hope and despair. Nurses need to understand the suffering, wrought by such a struggle, to facilitate the positive re-envisioning of those who are dialysis dependent.
Department of Nursing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowomba, Queensland.
Kristine
K
Martin-McDonald
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009013:Morale; D033262:Narration; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011793:Queensland; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty