Stomas changing lives: facing the illness to survive

Abstract

This paper is an exploratory and descriptive field research with a qualitative approach, aimed at describing the changes in the daily life of stomized people and identify their ways of coping with their illness. The sample consisted of individuals with a permanent intestinal stoma for at least two years and who were enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Assistance Program for Stomized Patients (PAMPO in Portuguese). Semistructured interviews were used, to collect data, which were recorded and later transcribed verbatim, producing a text for content analysis, as proposed by Laurence Bardin. Most colostomized individuals made changes in their way of life after the stoma creation, such as physical, psychological, and social changes caused by the loss of sphincter control and changes in body image, which led to the need to adopt strategies to adapt to new circumstances. Some people adapted well to these changes, while others had difficulties in dealing with such changes, resulting in psychological and physiological imbalances. Therefore, the adjustment or not to the problem stressors, in this case the creation of the stoma, influence the quality of life of stomized individuals. It is commonly observed that shortly after undergoing a surgical process, patients become enormously involved with taking great care of themselves, which they did not feel confident enough to do before. This is due to the aid offered by nursing care. It is also important to note that it is the nurse’s role to intervene exclusively in the perioperative period, aimed at achieving the best possible adaptation for stomized individuals, encouraging the patient to face the chronic and permanent intestinal stoma, which demands continuous and long-term care from both the healthcare group and the interdisciplinary team.