Living with renal failure.

UNLABELLED: In this interpretive study, the experience of patients living with chronic renal failure was studied. Within the framework of Heideggerian phenomenology, a hermeneutic analysis revealed three themes and one constitutive pattern. The three themes were: taking on a new understanding of Being, maintaining hope and dwelling in dialysis. The constitutive pattern was " CONTROL: The Meaning of Technology." The findings provide an understanding of living with renal failure that argues against the traditional understanding of noncompliant behaviors. The study makes visible the meaning of technology in the lives of renal patients and highlights the need for nurses to sustain meaningful human connections with patients.