Skip to main content
2026 ASCRS Annual Scientific Meeting Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
CME
CME
Invitation/Ticketed Event
Invitation/Ticketed Event
Invited Lectureship
Invited Lectureship
Award Recipient
Award Recipient
Live Streamed Session
Live Streamed Session
Nurses Contact Hours
Nurses Contact Hours
Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment
Live Q&A and Polling
Live Q&A and Polling
Social
Social
Industry
Industry

Session:: ePosters-Mon330-M5: Education and Training

EP1034 - Variations in opportunities to improve ostomy care and education by ostomy type

Monday, May 11, 2026
3:57 PM - 4:02 PM ET

    ePoster Presenter(s)

  • EK

    Emily Kao, MD

    Fellow
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, Alabama, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

    • Author(s)

  • Hannah Ficarino Sheffer, MD, MSPH (she/her/hers)

    Resident
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, AL, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • KF

    Karen Fetsch, BS

    Medical Student
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Huntsville, Alabama, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • Daniel I. Chu, MD, MSPH (he/him/his)

    Professor and Division Director
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, AL, United States

    All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
    This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Robert Hollis, MD, MSPH

    Assistant Professor
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, AL, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
Daniel I. Chu, MD, MSPH: This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Purpose/Background: Patients with a new ostomy and their caregivers face perioperative barriers to successful ostomy care and education. This study sought to compare barriers reported by patients with a new ostomy and their caregivers stratified by type of ostomy (ileostomy vs colostomy).

Methods/Interventions: We performed a sub-analysis using qualitative data from semi-structured interviews among patients who underwent surgery with construction of a new ostomy and their caregivers to explore perioperative barriers to ostomy care and education. Patients and caregivers were grouped by whether they managed an ileostomy or colostomy confirmed through the electronic medical record. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a comparative thematic analysis approach utilizing NVivo 12 software.

Results/Outcomes: Among patients (n=20) and caregivers (n=16) interviewed, 55% of patients underwent ileostomy creation and 81% of caregivers were of patients with an ileostomy. There were no significant differences in age, number of post-operative ostomy nurse visits, or post-operative length of stay (p>0.05). In the preoperative setting, patients and caregivers with an ileostomy frequently reported barriers of "not knowing what to expect" whereas colostomy patients and caregivers more frequently reported challenges related to "difficulty understanding health condition." In the inpatient phase, ileostomy patients and caregivers more frequently reported "challenges with ostomy appliance application." In the post-discharge phase, both ileostomy and colostomy patients and caregivers reported issues with hydration and/or diet management and variability in utility of home healthcare. Ileostomy patients and caregivers more frequently reported challenges "caring for inflamed skin."

Conclusion/Discussion: Patients and caregivers face multiple perioperative learning, technical, and resource-related barriers to successful ostomy management. Experiences vary by ostomy type; recognition of these varying difficulties provides an opportunity for improved care and education tailored to ostomy type.

Table 1
Selected quotes from ileostomy and colostomy patients and their caregivers illustrating perioperative barriers