Monday, November 26, 2012

Imagining life with an ostomy: Does a video intervention improve quality-of-life predictions for a medical condition that may elicit disgust?


Imagining life with an ostomy: Does a video intervention improve quality-of-life predictions for a medical condition that may elicit disgust? 

  • a Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, USA
  • b Fuqua School of Business, Sanford School of Public Policy, and School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, USA

Abstract

Objective

To test a video intervention as a way to improve predictions of mood and quality-of-life with an emotionally evocative medical condition. Such predictions are typically inaccurate, which can be consequential for decision making.

Method

In Part 1, people presently or formerly living with ostomies predicted how watching a video depicting a person changing his ostomy pouch would affect mood and quality-of-life forecasts for life with an ostomy. In Part 2, participants from the general public read a description about life with an ostomy; half also watched a video depicting a person changing his ostomy pouch. Participants’ quality-of-life and mood forecasts for life with an ostomy were assessed.

Results

Contrary to our expectations, and the expectations of people presently or formerly living with ostomies, the video did not reduce mood or quality-of-life estimates, even among participants high in trait disgust sensitivity. Among low-disgust participants, watching the video increased quality-of-life predictions for ostomy.

Conclusion

Video interventions may improve mood and quality-of-life forecasts for medical conditions, including those that may elicit disgust, such as ostomy.

Practice implications

Video interventions focusing on patients’ experience of illness continue to show promise as components of decision aids, even for emotionally charged health states such as ostomy.

Keywords

  • Ostomy; 
  • Video; 
  • Quality-of-life; 
  • Judgment

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