Product Management Experiences of Patients With a Stoma Receiving Telenursing Services.

AIM: This study explored how individuals with a stoma interpret and manage product-related challenges and examined the contribution of telenursing services to their daily care processes.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive design.

METHODS

Seven participants were recruited through criterion-based purposive sampling among individuals receiving telenursing support for stoma care from a private healthcare provider. Data were collected through online semi-structured interviews lasting 20-30 min and analysed using conventional content analysis with MAXQDA 24 software. The study was reported according to COREQ guidelines. Ethical approval was obtained from the Bahçeşehir University Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee prior to data collection (decision no. 2024/07, dated 1 August 2024). All participants provided written informed consent, and institutional approval was obtained before the study commenced.

RESULTS

Five overarching themes were identified: reasons for using telehealth, recommendations received through telenursing, emotional responses following telehealth, perceived effectiveness of counselling and alternative methods sought by patients. Participants reported that telenursing provided practical, timely and personalised guidance that helped them manage issues such as adapter leakage, skin irritation, product selection and wound assessment. Participants reported needing fewer hospital visits and described feelings of safety, satisfaction and relief. While some participants consulted physicians or the internet for additional information, telenursing remained their primary and trusted source of support.

CONCLUSION

Participants described telenursing as supporting their self-care capacity and as a source of practical guidance and reassurance in managing product-related problems. These accounts suggest that integrating telehealth into routine stoma care may strengthen continuity of care, although the present design does not allow its effects on clinical outcomes to be determined. Health professionals should consider expanding digital care competencies and developing structured telenursing protocols to strengthen this form of support.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Participants' accounts suggest that structured telenursing support may help individuals with a stoma manage practical, product-related difficulties in daily life. Stoma nurses and telenurses can use these findings to inform product-use education, routine skin assessment, leakage management, structured follow-up contacts, timely escalation to physicians and the development of digital communication protocols.

IMPACT: What problem did the study address? Individuals living with a stoma frequently encounter difficulties with product selection, adapter fit, leakage and peristomal skin care, yet little is known about how these difficulties are experienced in everyday life, or how telenursing responds to them from the patients' own perspective. What were the main findings? Participants' accounts centred on practical product problems such as adapter leakage, peristomal irritation and wound care. They described the remote guidance they received as prompt and dependable, said it left them feeling more secure and better able to manage their own care, and reported turning to hospital services less often than they otherwise would have. Other information sources were consulted, but telenursing was consistently placed ahead of them. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? The findings are relevant to stoma care nurses and telenurses, and to the healthcare organisations that provide remote follow-up for individuals living with a stoma.

REPORTING METHOD: The study adhered to the EQUATOR Network guidelines and was reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Participants contributed to the study by sharing their experiences in individual interviews and by reviewing summaries of their own interviews as part of member checking, which informed the verification of the interpretations reported here. Patients or members of the public were not involved in the design of the study, in the development of the interview guide, or in the preparation of the manuscript.