Living with an ostomy: Perceptions and expectations from a social phenomenological perspective

The aim of this study was to understand the life change events of a group of patients with a colostomy, as well as explore their nursing care expectations. Nine patients with a colostomy participated in this qualitative research, which was based on the social phenomenological approach of Alfred Schütz. The analysis of the interviews, using this frame of reference, identified the type of experience lived by these study subjects, whose life change contexts underscored the importance of the power of adaptation and the social and job environment. It also revealed their expectations regarding nurses as counselors during the transition period, their desire for compassionate care and the building of new horizons.