Body Image Perceptions of Persons With a Stoma and Their Partners: A Descriptive, Cross-sectional Study

The body image perceptions of persons with a stoma and their partners are rarely examined and have yet to be evaluated in a Turkish sample. Using convenience sampling methods, a descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals receiving treatment at the authors' stomatherapy unit between March 1, 2012 and May 31, 2012 to assess the effect of the stoma on self-image and partner perception. Eligible participants had to be >18 years of age, married, and with an abdominal stoma (colostomy, urostomy, or ileostomy) for at least 2 months. Data were obtained through separate (patient or partner), face-to-face, 30-minute to 45-minute interviews using the appropriate questionnaire. Questionnaire items assessed demographic variables and patient/partner feelings toward the ostomate's body using the Body Cathexis Scale (BCS) and author-developed questionnaires comprising statements eliciting individual responses (agree, disagree, undecided) regarding their feelings toward the stoma. Data were tabulated and analyzed using percentile distributions, and Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H tests were performed (Bonferroni correction was applied). Sixty (60) patients (25 women, 35 men, mean age 56.01 ± 10.1 years; 25 with an ileostomy, 30 with a colostomy, 5 with an ileostomy) participated, along with their 60 heterosexual partners (mean age 54.56 ± 10.25 years) married a mean of 33.06 ± 11.03 years. Mean patient BCS score was 133.15 ± 20.58 (range 40--low perception--to 200--high perception). Mean BCS score of patients whose partner helped in stoma care was significantly higher (136.04) than those whose partners did not (120.27) (P = 0.033). Patients who consulted their partners' opinions on stoma creation and participation in care had significantly higher BCS scores (P <0.05), and BCS scores of patients whose partners thought the stoma had a negative effect on their relationship were significantly lower (P = 0.040); patients' perceptions toward their bodies were parallel to their partners'. Mean BCS score of patients experiencing physical and psychosocial problems was significantly lower than those of patients who did not experience such problems. The results of this study show a number of factors, including involving patient partners before surgery, affect body perception of persons following stoma surgery.