A literature review on experiences of ostomates among elderly people

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the experiences of patients with gastrointestinal stomas by reviewing previous publications. A total of 26 original articles were identified in the field of nursing from 1985 to 2019 in the ICHUSHI-Web database using “stoma” and “elderly people” combined with “experience” as key terms. Furthermore, the CINAHL database was explored for original nursing articles in English using “stoma or ostomy” combined with “aged or elderly” and “experience” as key terms and identified 37 articles. After reading the extracted contents, six Japanese and two English articles on the experiences of elderly people with stomas were included in a literature review. This literature review revealed that participants were “shocked” preoperatively, “looked directly at the stoma” and “obtained an education on stoma care postoperatively,” and “tried to accept the stoma construction” while experiencing “inconveniences and glitches associated with the stoma” after hospital discharge. Subsequently, they reported to experience “thinking about the future and becoming anxious,” but “being supported by others” “changed the way they think about their health and life.” Nursing management for elderly people with stoma should involve the elderly people themselves so that they can proactively overcome mental and physical changes perioperatively. In particular, when being told the disease characteristics, looking directly at a stoma, or receiving education on stoma care, family members and medical staff should become supporters and be actively involved.