WOC Nurses Positive Impact on Wear Time with Telephone Consultations with Consumers

Background/Problem:

Wear time directly impacts quality of life for persons living with an ostomy.¹ Consumers’ expectations for wear time vary greatly.  Based on a literature review actual wear time varies as well.  How often an ostomate changes a pouch depends on the type of stoma, location, and effluent.  Per the WOCN Society, wear time should be at least three days and it is not recommended to exceed seven days.² In a study of 34 persons with ostomies, the average wear time was 4 days.³ In another study of 551 persons with ostomies, the average wear time was 4.8 days.¹ Consumers’ perception is based on the expectation set following surgery.

Objective:

Evaluate clinical and quality of life outcomes for persons living with an ostomy who called and spoke with a WOC Nurse at a manufacturers’ customer call center seeking increased wear time.

Methodology:

In this study, a retrospective review of cases was used by WOC Nurses to identify who had called into the manufacturer’s call center expressing dissatisfaction with current wear time.

Results:

Results reflect improved wear time and quality of life for ostomates after speaking with a WOC Nurse at the manufacturer’s call center.  Over 99% of consumers surveyed expressed satisfaction with the call.  They either reported an improvement to their wear time or made an adjustment to the current pouching system based on the WOC Nurse recommendations to achieve consistent and predictable wear time.

Conclusion:

It is believed that education and recommendations provided by WOC Nurses can help improve quality of life and make a positive impact on wear time.  The information received by consumers varies widely depending on who is providing it.  Further studies should be conducted about consistency, predictability and factors affecting wear time.

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SC-000516-US