This study aimed to analyze the frequency of efficient and inefficient behavior in members of a group of ostomy patients due to bowel cancer. An exploratory and observational field study took place at a public service hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. The population consisted of 5 persons who joined in a group. After approval by the institutional Ethics Committee, 5 meetings were held in October and November 2001, guided by the following themes "me before getting ill", "me ill and the treatment", "me recovering with an ostomy", "me and daily life", "me in this group". Data were collected through videotaping of the meetings and field diary records, and were subject to quantitative analysis by means of tables and graphs, on the basis of an established model. The preponderance of rigidity and competitiveness in the intragroup relationships was explicit and determined stagnation and stereotyped attitudes in interaction.
nonverbal communication; social group; colorectal neoplasms
