Factors Associated With Quality of Life Among People Living With a Stoma in Nonmetropolitan Areas.
Sarah N Ketterer, Michael J Leach, Caitlin Fraser
PMID 33883499WHAT IT FOUND
Stoma patients in regional Australia scored 6.8 out of 10 on quality of life.
Working, older age, sexual activity, and no clothing change were associated with better scores; depression and stoma placement issues with worse.
Key findings
01The mean quality-of-life score was 6.8, with scores ranging from 2.5 to 10.
0240% of respondents reported depression after stoma, and 9% reported considering suicide.
03After accounting for other factors, better quality of life was associated with working, no post-stoma clothing change, sexual activity after stoma, and older age, while depression after stoma and stoma location issues were associated with poorer quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Because this was a cross-sectional survey, it cannot show that working, sexual activity, or stoma placement issues caused better or worse quality of life. The sample came from members of a regional ostomy association, and the authors say they cannot determine whether it represents all Australian stoma patients. Some factors, such as peristomal complications, hernia, and remoteness, were not measured and could have affected the associations. Some groups had small numbers, and some comparisons had wide confidence intervals. Missing data were handled by using available cases, so not every analysis included all 285 respondents.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that working, sexual activity, or no clothing change causes better quality of life, or that stoma placement issues cause lower quality of life. This was a cross-sectional survey of ostomy association members, so the direction of association is unknown and unmeasured factors may explain the findings.