Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Melinda Harman
Committee Member
Dr. David Neyens
Committee Member
Dr. Casey Hopkins
Committee Member
Dr. Reed Gurchiek
Abstract
An estimated 725,000 to 1 million Americans are living with an ostomy and depend on ostomy pouching systems as part of their daily care. Effective ostomy management requires regular pouch changes and consistent skin care to prevent peristomal skin complications. Many individuals living with an ostomy face long-term challenges in managing their ostomy care, which can negatively affect their health-related quality of life. There is a need to understand how professional experience across different care environments, such as hospital-based and community-based settings, influences ostomy nursing care practices.
This study evaluates how nurses working in hospital-based settings and community-based settings perform ostomy pouching system changes and respond to effluent leakage using clinical simulation on an enhanced nursing mannequin simulator. The community-based group spent longer time caring for the peristomal skin, reapplying the ostomy pouching system, and on the overall procedure time. Community-based nurses focused on product selection, intervention and educating patients using simple terms and understood the reality of transitioning ostomy care to the home environment, which directly benefits patients’ self-care.
Variations in nurses responses to effluent leakage events were observed, with the majority of nurses completing their task before wiping the effluent off the skin. Over half of nurse participants covered the ostomy as a strategy to prevent leakage as recommended by nurse checklists for changing ostomy pouching systems. This study found nurses working in different care settings (hospital-based and community-based) perform ostomy pouching system changes and respond to effluent leakage differently.
Recommended Citation
Gerlach, Hannah, "Evaluation of Ostomy Pouching Change Practices Among Hospital-based and Community-based Nurses" (2026). All Theses. 4855.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4855