Effect of Orem’s self-care model on discharge readiness of patients undergoing enterostomy: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of Orem's self-care model in preparing hospitals for the discharge of patients with colorectal cancer who undergo enterostomy.

Methods

92 patients with enterostomy were recruited between February 2022 and February 2023 from a general tertiary hospital. The participants were assigned to either the intervention group or the control group randomly. The intervention group received Orem's self-care program and a three-month follow-up, whereas the control group received only routine care and a three-month follow-up. Discharge readiness, self-care ability, and stoma-quality-of-life data were collected at hospital discharge (T1), 30 days (T2), and 90 days (T3) after discharge.

Results

The intervention group had substantially higher discharge readiness (knowledge, p < 0.001; coping ability, p = 0.006; personal status, p = 0.001; expected support, p = 0.021; total score, p < 0.001), better self-care ability at T1 (self-care knowledge, p < 0.001; self-care skills, p = 0.010), better total quality of life (QoL) at T1, T2, and T3 (p < 0.001; p = 0.006; p = 0.014); better stoma management and daily routine at T1 (p = 0.004; p < 0.001); and better daily routine at T2 (p = 0.009) than the control group.

Conclusions

The designed discharge readiness program based on Orem's self-care could promote effective patient discharge readiness, self-care knowledge, self-care skills, and QoL.

Trial registration

The trial has been registered at Clinical Trials.gov (http://www.chictr.org.au:ChiCTR2200056302).