Relationship of Resilience to Chronic Sorrow in Persons Living with an Ostomy

Persons who have ostomy surgery live with ongoing physical and psychological losses. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of resilience to chronic sorrow in persons living with an ostomy. A descriptive correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 254 persons living with an ostomy. Study participants completed a questionnaire that included three sections: demographics and background information, Kendall Chronic Sorrow Instrument (KCSI), and Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Descriptive and correlational analysis was used to examine the relationship between and among the variables. Results showed that the correlation between resilience and chronic sorrow was r = -0.5 and was statistically significant at p<0.001. Strong statistically significant relationships (p<0.5) were found between participants having chronic sorrow and less resilience in age groups 18-45 years of age, persons living with an ostomy 2 months to 6 years, those ostomates who had a permanent colostomy, and those who felt they were not given adequate education to manage their ostomy at the time of surgery. Among the participants 75(30%) of the ostomates experienced chronic sorrow as an adaptation process to living with a stoma. Since resilience can be fostered in individuals who experience an adverse event such as an ostomy, nursing can draw on the interventional strategy of developing resilience to support ostomy patient's adaptation to living with their ongoing losses.