The effect of terror on patients and staff in the dialysis department.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore the influence of national terror on patients and staff in the dialysis department at Haemek Medical Center in Afula, Israel. The staff as well as the served population include Jews and Arabs and until lately the only fight was against sickness. This study employs a qualitative methodology, based on the phenomenological tradition. Semi structured interviews were used for collecting the data. Eleven patients and 5 staff members were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes 1) Shock experiencing fear of a terror attack, 2) The human becomes 'a robot' and 3) The effect of terror on relationships in the department.