ABSTRACT
Objective
This qualitative study is aimed to explore the experiences of individuals living with prolonged ostomy and to discover the areas that remained untreated because of lack of knowledge. Many individuals undergo ostomy surgery every year across the globe. They face many challenges after surgery however, without knowing their experiences it is impossible to understand the “quality of life” with a stoma.
Design: A phenomenological research design was implemented for conducting this study by following SRQR checklist of equator network reporting guideline. Approval was obtained from the Ethical Review Board.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Hayatabad Medical Complex as per direction of the Institutional review board of Khyber Medical University from March 2019 to March 2020.
Methodology: In the current study a phenomenological research design was implemented and eight individuals including both male and female were interviewed following the purposive sampling technique. Face to face in depth interviews were conducted, data were recorded, transcribed in the form of verbatim and translated. The data was further analyzed, codified and categorized; finally different themes were extracted through thematic analysis method.
Result: Five themes were selected and information generated in the following areas; sleep deprivation, restricted social relationship, compromised nutritional status, psychological impact, and financial challenges.
Conclusion: The study concluded that proper attention must be given to the hidden aspect to make the patient’s life more comfortable. The most highlighted explored areas were sleep deprivation, restricted social relationships, compromised nutritional status, psychological impact, and financial challenges.
Key Words: Qualitative study, care of stoma, living with an ostomy, nutritional needs of stoma patient, psychosocial impact of stoma and physical influences of an ostomy.
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