Assessment relationship between Body-esteem and perceived social support in patients with ostomy in the Iranian Ostomy Association

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is a progressive gastrointestinal disease that leads to the insertion of an ostomy for patients. On the other hand, the manifestations and complications caused by the insertion of the ostomy cause many physical and mental problems for the patient. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between body-esteem and perceived social support in patients with ostomy in the Iranian Ostomy Association. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was performed on 350 patients with ostomy referring to the Iranian Ostomy Association in Tehran. The Convenient method was used for sampling. The data collection tool was a Body-esteem Scale and Nortous social support questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 and independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and Tukey test.  Results: The mean and standard deviation of Body-esteem and perceived social support of patients were 42.57 ± 10.24 and 131.17 ± 15.45. According to the findings of this study, the mean score of Body-esteem and social support in patients with ostomy was moderate. There is a direct and significant relationship between social support and Body-esteem (r = 0.13, P = 0.006). Conclusions: Since the perception of social support has considerable effect on Body-esteem, it is recommended that nurses, by identifying high-risk groups in terms of receiving and understanding social support, continuously examine the patient's support needs and improve their level of Mental health and also by connecting patients with the community, families and groups of friends pay attention to this psychological dimension.