Sexual Experience and Stigma Among Chinese Patients With an Enterostomy: A Cross-sectional, Descriptive Study

Colorectal cancer is common in China, and studies on the sexuality of patients with an ostomy are limited, particularly information about the relationship between sexual experience and stigma. PURPOSE: A study was conducted to assess the association between sexual experience and stigma in Chinese patients with an enterostomy. METHOD: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted between May 2017 and August 2018 among patients with an ostomy at 3 general hospitals. Patients 18 to 70 years old with a history of ostomy surgery more than 1 month prior, who had a regular sexual partner, and were willing to provide informed consent were eligible to participate; persons with mental illness, preoperative sexual dysfunction (SD), or tumor recurrence or metastasis were excluded. Study participants completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire including demographic (gender, educational level, occupation, geographic place of residence, and monthly family income) and ostomy-related (type of ostomy, time since ostomy surgery, insurance coverage, ostomy-related complications, and sexual guidance) information. Sexual experience was assessed using the 5-item Chinese version of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (C-ASEX) (range 5 to 30; scores >19 reflect sexual dysfunction). Stigma (internalization of perceived shameful experience) was assessed using the 24-item, Likert-type Chinese version of the Social Impact Scale (C-SIS) (score range 24 to 96; lower scores indicate less stigma). Quantitative data from the questionnaires were deindentified and entered into statistical software for analysis by 2 researchers. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the associations among sexual experience, stigma, and other factors. RESULTS: Of the 240 questionnaires distributed, 187 (77.9%) were completed and included in the final analysis. The average C-ASEX score was 22.77 ± 6.78, and 118 participants (63.1%) had SD. The average C-SIS score was 59.36 ± 11.20, indicating a moderate level of stigma. A significant association was found between sexual experience and stigma (B = 0.101, P = .006). Sexual experience perceptions were determined by sexual guidance needs (B = 3.179, P <.001), geographic area of residence (B = -2.087, P = .014), receipt of sexual guidance (B = -2.989, P = .001), and insurance coverage (B = 1.822, P = .015). CONCLUSION: Health care workers should strive to reduce the stigma of having a stoma and offer sexual guidance as a means to improve quality of sexual life. Particular attention should be paid to the sexual well-being of persons living in rural areas and those paying for medical expenses out of pocket.