An individual may be rendered vulnerable
fora period of time, albeit temporary,
and this vulnerability is affected by their
previous experience, perceptions of life
and disease (Nichiata et al 2008). It is
also viewed as a continuum, with theindividual's state changing over time
(Rogers 1997). Spiers (2000) suggests that
there are both ‘etic’ and ‘emic’ perceptions
of harm, the etic identification of harm
being the impending anaesthetic, surgery,
and the technical theatre environment, and
the emic identification of harm being the
patient’s previous and current experience.