title: The impact of medical technology on sense of security in the palliative home care setting.
abstract: The increase in the use of medical devices in palliative home care requires that patients and next-of-kin feel secure. Therefore, the aim was to describe medical technology's impact on the sense of security for patients, next-of-kin and district nurses. Deductive content analysis was conducted on data from three previous studies, using the theoretical framework 'palliative home care as a secure base'. The use of medical technology was shown to have an impact on the sense of security for all involved. A sense of control was promoted by trust in staff and their competence in managing the technology, which was linked to continuity. Inner peace and being in comfort implied effective symptom relief facilitated by pain pumps and being relieved of responsibility. Health care professionals need to have practical knowledge about medical technology, but at the same time have an awareness of how to create and maintain a sense of security.
authors.affiliation: District Nurse, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing Science, School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Munck
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Co-director, Center for Collaborative Palliative Care, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sandgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063087:Noninvasive Ventilation / Q000295:instrumentation; D064691:Nurses, Community Health; D059408:Pain Management / Q000295:instrumentation; D010166:Palliative Care; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical
keywords: deductive content analysis; medical technology; palliative home care; secure base; security