The impact of multidisciplinary accompaniment interventions on negative emotions and caregiving ability of family members of ostomy patients: exploring the mediating effect of social isolation

TL;DR

A 12-week program for caregivers of ostomy patients reduced stress and improved caregiving skills by addressing social isolation.

Contribution

This study is the first to test how reducing social isolation improves outcomes in caregiver programs for ostomy patients.

Findings

Multidisciplinary interventions improved caregiving ability by 18.7% through reduced social isolation.

The program reduced negative emotions by 15.2% via decreased social isolation.

Place of residence, marital status, and alcohol consumption also significantly influenced caregiving outcomes.

Abstract

Almost half of stoma caregivers develop anxiety or depression, yet follow-up still centers on patients and offers caregivers little structured support. Social isolation—worsened by the pandemic and likely to grow as colorectal-cancer ostomies rise—appears central to this distress, but its role in caregiver programs has never been tested. We therefore assessed a 12-week multidisciplinary accompaniment program and measured how much reducing isolation improves caregivers' skills and emotional wellbeing.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 302 family caregivers of ostomy patients. Participants were divided into an Intervention Group (IG) and a Non-Intervention Group (NIG). Logistic regression models examined associations between demographic and behavioral factors, caregiving outcomes, and social isolation. Mediation analysis was performed to determine the indirect effects of social isolation on caregiving ability and negative emotions.

Multidisciplinary accompaniment interventions significantly improved caregiving ability (OR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.12–3.54), reduced negative emotions (OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.13–4.03) and social isolation score (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.09–2.29), with social isolation accounting for 18.7% of the effect on caregiving ability and 15.2% on negative emotions. In addition, significant predictors also included place of residence, marital status, and alcohol consumption.

Multidisciplinary accompaniment interventions that address social isolation can enhance caregiving ability and reduce emotional strain in family caregivers of ostomy patients.

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