The paradox of haemodialysis: the lived experience of the clocked treatment of chronic illness

Cluley, Victoria; Burton, James O.; Hull, Katherine L.; Eborall, Helen

Abstract

Studies exploring the relationship between time and chronic illness have generally focused on measurable aspects of time, also known as linear time. Linear time follows a predictable, sequential order of past, present and future; measured using a clock and predicated on normative assumptions. Sociological concepts addressing lifecourse disruption following diagnosis of chronic illness have served to enhance the understanding of lived experience. To understand the nuanced relationship between time and chronic illness, however, requires further exploration. Here, we show how the implicit assumptions of linear time meet in tension with the lived experience of chronic illness. We draw on interviews and photovoice work with people with end-stage kidney disease in receipt of in-centre-daytime haemodialysis to show how the clocked treatment of chronic illness disrupts experiences of time. Drawing on concepts of ‘crip’ and ‘chronic’ time we argue that clocked treatment and the lived experience of chronic illness converge at a paradox whereby clocked treatment allows for the continuation of linear time yet limits freedom. We use the concept of ‘crip time’ to challenge the normative assumptions implicit within linear concepts of time and argue that the understanding of chronic illness and its treatment would benefit from a ‘cripped’ starting point.

Citation

Cluley, V., Burton, J. O., Hull, K. L., & Eborall, H. (in press). The paradox of haemodialysis: the lived experience of the clocked treatment of chronic illness. Health Sociology Review, 33(1), 24-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2024.2319189

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 11, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 12, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 28, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 9, 2025
• Journal: Health Sociology Review
• Print ISSN: 1446-1242
• Electronic ISSN: 1839-3551
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 24-42
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2024.2319189
• Keywords: Chronic illness; time; crip time; chronic time; end stage kidney disease
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/33012689
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rhsr20; Received: 2023-06-22; Accepted: 2024-02-11; Published: 2024-03-12