Abstract: Objective: To explore the care management experiences of primary caregivers of elderly ostomy patients at different stages of diagnosis and treatment through journey mapping, and to provide evidence for developing supportive interventions across the entire caregiving journey. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted from July to September 2025. Fifteen primary caregivers of patients were purposively recruited from two campuses of a tertiary grade A hospital in Hefei. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using conventional content analysis. A caregiver journey map was subsequently developed based on the analysis. Results: Based on the stage of the care journey as the horizontal axis, the care management of primary caregivers of elderly ostomy patients was summarized into 19 themes, including insufficient treatment-related information, imbalance between psychological and material support, etc. Conclusion: Primary caregivers of elderly ostomy patients exhibited dynamic care management characteristics throughout the entire disease and stoma care journey, care tasks, emotional experiences and other aspects of care management varing across different stages. Future efforts should focus on improving healthcare professional-led information support systems and establishing stoma therapist-led continuous follow-up and caregiving skills training programs to provide sustained and standardized professional support, thereby enhancing caregivers' psychological adaptation and caregiving competence and ultimately improving the quality of home-based care for elderly ostomy patients.

Key words: elderly ostomy patient; caregiver; care management; journey map; qualitative research