Stigma and Its Influence on Patients With Temporary Ostomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore stigma and its influencing factors in Chinese patients with a temporary ostomy. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 170 patients living with a temporary ostomy for at least 2 weeks. Participants were recruited from 3 general hospitals in Guangdong province, located in southeastern China. METHODS: Respondents completed a questionnaire that included ostomy-related sociodemographic questionnaire, the Social Impact Scale, and the Stoma Self-Efficacy Scale. Multivariate linear regression was used to identify factors influencing stigma. RESULTS: Of the 170 questionnaires distributed, 159 (93.5%) respondents who sufficiently completed responses were included in the final analysis. The average score of the Social Impact Scale was 61.63 (SD = 8.39), reflecting a moderate level of stigma, and 27 (17%) experienced high levels of stigma. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that stigma was associated with family relationships (B = 6.139, P = .000), age when ostomy was created (B = -4.038, P = .000), and self-efficacy (B = -0.080, P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: The level of stigma in Chinese patients with temporary ostomies is moderate. Multivariate regression analysis identified family relationship, age, and self-efficacy as the main factors that influenced stigma in patients with temporary ostomy.