Stoma programmes may help people feel more able to manage their own care.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   Adults over 18 with a bowel stoma took part in 16 studies from 2000 to 2020. Five of those studies, with 536 people, were combined into one result.

2. 02

   What they did

   Programmes taught people how to care for their stoma, mostly through sessions with a nurse. Some added phone calls, a booklet or an app. The other group got usual care, and results were checked 45 to 90 days later.

3. 03

   What happened

   People in the programmes rated themselves more able to manage their stoma than people on usual care. Quality of life and skills for managing a stoma gave mixed results, so the review could not combine them. Only one of the 16 studies had a low risk of bias, and the paper's figures for one study do not match.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across five studies, people in stoma programmes felt more able to care for their stoma than usual care.

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies with 536 people · vs people who got usual care · they rated themselves · ⚠ most studies had serious flaws; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source