Patients' Experiences Before, During, and After a Colonoscopy Procedure

Abstract

Although colonoscopy is a common examination, there is limited research focusing on how patients experience this procedure. It is important that a colonoscopy is tolerated, as it may lead to lifesaving diagnostics and treatment. This study aims to explore adult patients' experience of undergoing a colonoscopy regarding the time prior to, during, and after the procedure. This was a qualitative study with individual interviews (n = 24) and a purposeful sample that was analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed four themes. The first, “making up one's mind,” describes how the participants gathered information and reflected emotionally about the forthcoming procedure. The hope of clarification motivated them to proceed. In the theme “getting ready,” self-care was in focus while the participants struggled to follow the instructions and carry out the burdensome cleansing. The next theme, “going through,” illuminates' experiences during the colonoscopy and highlights the importance of feeling involved and respected. The last theme, “finally over,” is characterized by experiences of relief, tiredness, and a desire for clarity. The healthcare professionals' ability to meet the participants' needs is vital, given that the experiences are highly individual. These findings contribute to a variegated image of how patients experience the process of undergoing a colonoscopy.

Patient-Reported Experience Measures for Colonoscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography

“…The studies included participants who were undergoing a screening colonoscopy [34,35,41,42,44], or where the participants' indication for the colonoscopy was either colonic inflammatory bowel disease or suspected colonic neoplasia [33,36,37]. Two studies included patients within colorectal cancer screening as well as patients with other clinical indications [32,40], one study explicitly stated that the participants had no suspected cancer [43], and two studies had no reporting indication [38,39]. Seven studies clearly stated that some participants had undergone more than one colonoscopy [33,34,[37][38][39]41,44].…”

“…Seven studies clearly stated that some participants had undergone more than one colonoscopy [33,34,[37][38][39]41,44]. The data were collected after the colonoscopy procedure, using either individual interviews [32,33,[35][36][37][38][39][40]42,43] or focus group interviews [34,41]. One study used both individual and focus group interviews [44].…”

“…All thirteen studies presented findings regarding different aspects of Discomfort, either before, during, or after the procedure [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44].…”

“…Other patients, too, were concerned about the aspect of dietary restrictions, which were experienced as overwhelming due to the planning and preparation of meals that often deviated from their usual routine [40]. Overall, the bowel preparation was experienced as unpleasant [32,[35][36][37][38]44] and patients felt nervous when they were facing the intake of the large fluid volume [34]. During the bowel preparation, they could experience nausea and abdominal discomfort [32,40,41,44].…”

“…Overall, the bowel preparation was experienced as unpleasant [32,[35][36][37][38]44] and patients felt nervous when they were facing the intake of the large fluid volume [34]. During the bowel preparation, they could experience nausea and abdominal discomfort [32,40,41,44]. However, they tolerated the preparation due to a desire to do a good job [32,38,44] and their willingness to go through with the colonoscopy since they felt that the procedure had to be done [36].…”