Factors Affecting Body Image and Sexual Life for the Colorectal Cancer Patients with Stoma

The sexuality experience of stoma patients: a meta-ethnography of qualitative research

BACKGROUND

As the quality of life of stoma patients has become a research hotspot, sexual health as an integral part of patients' lives has received more and more attention. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews on the sexual experiences of patients with stomas. This study aims to synthesize the qualitative literature on the subjective experience of stoma patients' sexual life, to identify their sexual needs, and to provide evidence for the content and methods of sexual health interventions for healthcare professionals.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched for qualitative studies on the sexual experience of stoma patients (from the inception to January 2023). Titles, abstracts, and full texts were reviewed by two researchers. We used the Critical Appraisal Program (CASP) checklist to assess the quality of included articles.

RESULTS

A total of 1388 articles were retrieved, and eight studies were included. Data was extracted, including three main themes: 1) sexual problems due to changes in physical function and psychological disorders; 2) the relationship with spouse changes; 3) the cognition of sexual life and the need for sexual knowledge.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals should pay attention to the sexual life status and sexual health needs of stoma patients and their partners, and give professional guidance and support in treatment and nursing to improve the quality of sexual life of stoma patients.

Effects of social support and self-efficacy on the psychosocial adjustment of Korean ostomy patients

This study aims to test which factors influence and aid the psychosocial adjustment of patients with an ostomy and to provide data for the development of programmes for the self-management of and psychosocial adjustment to intestinal stomas. A total of 150 ostomy patients were recruited between December 1, 2017 and March 26, 2018 in Korea and completed self-report questionnaires. Data of 25 participants were excluded, resulting in a sample size of 125 participants. Factors, including social support subtypes and self-efficacy, that influence the psychosocial adjustment were analysed using Cox's regression. Of the factors that influenced the adjustment groups after adjusting for time, the following subtypes of social support were found to influence the patients' adjustment: the patients' psychosocial adjustment increased by 0.4 when the level of medical staff support increased by 1 (Exp[B] = 1.04, P = 0.007), and adjustment decreased by 0.3 when the level of family support increased by 1 (Exp[B] = 0.97, P < 0.001). As medical staff support who have expertise exert more of an influence on the psychosocial adjustment of ostomy patients than self-efficacy and family support, psychosocial adjustment programmes that reflect this and nurses specialised in care for ostomy patients are required.