Being-in-dialysis: The experience of the machine–body for home dialysis users

Abstract

New Zealand leads the world in rates of home dialysis use, yet little is known about the experience of home dialysis from the patient's perspective. This article contributes to the literature on the self-care of dialysis patients by examining the relevance of the concept of the machine-body and cyborg embodiment for the lived experience of people with end-stage renal failure. The article, which presents a discussion of 24 in-depth interviews undertaken between 2009 and 2012, shows that although dialysis therapy is disruptive of being and time, study participants experience home dialysis in terms of flexibility, control and independence. While they do not use the term machine-body as a descriptor, the concept resonates with felt experience. Data also indicate that positive experience of home dialysis is relative to socio-economic positioning and the lived relation of patients to others, necessitating further research to examine these factors.

Organ Transplant Recipients’ Experiences of Physical Activity: Health, Self-Care, and Transliminality

“…I want to take control over it, and just not let it take over me.” Through this simple yet powerful articulation, it is clear that the desire to resist submitting to illness provides fertile ground for PA to be placed meaningfully as an act of resistance. Indeed, we see this as echoing a finding from Shaw’s (2015) research with kidney patients, whereby the ethic of self-care included “not letting your illness become you” (p. 240). For another participant, this notion was similarly powerful but more related to being able to contribute to one’s health, if not being able to take control of it.…”

Design of Mobile Hemodialysis Apparatus for Acute Renal Failure Patient's Self-Help and Treatment Adherence

“…Rhonda Shaw Victoria have discussed on the literature survey and regarding dialysis patients self-care literature review by examining the relevance of the concept of cyborg embodiment for the lived experience of people with end-stage renal failure [49]. They concluded as upcoming research on being in dialysis for diverse population samples around perceptions of dialysis use in these settings would enhance understanding of New Zealanders' experiences.…”

Towards critical digital health studies: Reflections on two decades of research in health and the way forward

“…Their images and other data are able to move across great distances, even if their fleshy bodies cannot. In her analysis of the lived experience of computerised self-dialysis technologies, Shaw (2015) adopted a theoretical approach drawn from science and technology studies in conjunction with Heidegger’s phenomenological notion of ‘being-in-the-world’ that views the human–technology encounter as a form of cyborg embodiment. She used the term ‘body-in-dialysis’ to highlight the entanglements of digital machine and flesh that are configured when patients use their self-dialysis technologies at home.…”