Focus Group Interviews of Patients With Permanent or Temporary Enterostomas

Patient Perspectives on Living With an Enterostoma and Rehabilitation

The study seeks to gain knowledge about new and of alternative ways of organizing ostomy training based on informants' own experiences of life with a stoma.

The study is designed and conducted as qualitative focus group interviews with three different groups of patients with enterostomas (5-8 in each group): a) people with permanent enterostoma due to cancer, 2) people with permanent enterostoma due to non-cancer and 3) people with a temporary ileostomy.

The study is investigating the perspective of the patients who have actually experienced having surgery and living with an enterostoma.

By applying this method it is possible to gain access and in depth knowledge of complex issues including sensitive data. The dialogue with peers can lead to experiments and associations which might stimulate the informants to produce new insights within the individual and in the group.

The interviews will be transcribed in full and analyzed with qualitative content analysis with a phenomenological and hermeneutical approach

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with permanent enterostoma due to cancer.
• Patients with permanent enterostoma due to other causes.
• Patients with temporary ileostomy.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with severe mental disorders.
• Patients who do not communicate in Danish.
• Patients with severe hearing impairment.