A cross sectional study was conducted from September 2003 to January 2005. The study population included all persons with an ostomy living in Roskilde County, Denmark. We have attempted to include all persons with an ostomy by contacting the local municipalities administering individual aid. Danish law (law of social service section 4 chapter 19 § 97) states that every person with a chronic disease is entitled to reimbursement for any aid needed. For ostomy patients this means that they are entitled to free stoma care products from selected merchants and without restriction to type or manufacturer of ostomy product. All ostomy patients are automatically enrolled in the database at the local municipality in order to received reimbursement for product cost. It was therefore assumed that all ostomy patients were registered, as the law provides benefits without restrictions, and self-payment for alternative purchases would involve substantial additional and unnecessary private expenditure for the individual ostomy patient.