Colostomy may offer hope in improving quality of life: a phenomenological qualitative study with patients dependent on a wheelchair

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the perspectives of patients who had spinal cord injuries and were wheelchair-dependent on colostomy surgery, which is among the bowel movement methods. Methods In this qualitative study, which was based on Heidegger's hermeneutical phenomenological approach, the Van Manen method was used to reveal how patients were affected by their experiences. The data of the study were collected by directly interviewing the patients and using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were recorded with a voice recorder device with the permission of the participants. Nine patients who were leading a life dependent on a wheelchair as a result of spinal cord injury made up the sample of the study. Results Six of the participants were female. The ages of participants ranged between 32 and 52, and all of them were married. The results of the interviews indicated that the experiences of participants who were dependent on a wheelchair about bowel movement management consisted of three main themes: (a) difficult experiences; (b) coping with difficulties; and (c) colostomy awareness experience. Conclusions Results showed that knowledge of a stoma obtained from different sources was a glimmer of hope for patients but that healthcare professionals did not exhibit a supportive attitude toward this hope.