Ethnography on the Health Life of Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Kidney Failure

Abstract

Purpose: This study was performed to explore the contexts and meanings of health life among patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis. Methods: The ethnography steps presented by Spradley were utilized. The participants were 12 patients from two hemodialysis centers. Data were collected by iterative fieldwork through in-depth interviews and participant observations and analyzed using text analysis and taxonomic methods. Field notes were used along with interviews and dialogue between authors to enhance interpretation. Results: Five themes on the health life of participants emerged: experiencing the loss of normality of the body and the collapse of daily life, establishing the role of dialysis patients, reorganizing the network, building an integrated coping pattern, and new normalization of the pattern of life. Patients ’ experiences differed in health life ’ s patterns and meanings according to various individual situations and sociocultural contexts. Conclusion: Establishing new patterns of life of hemodialysis patients was a normalization process to ensure the adequacy of physical indicators and stability amid physical, emotional, and social challenges. To achieve quality health life, patients should be provided with tailored nursing interventions that consider their individual, social, and cultural situations.