Ostomy Complications and Quality of Life of Ostomy Support Belt/Garment Wearers: A Web-Based Survey.
Joyce Pittman, Janice Colwell, Madhuri S Mulekar
PMID 35040815WHAT IT FOUND
Quality of life was not shown to differ by belt group.
Ostomy support belt/garment wearers reported less frequent leakage (73% vs 60%) and fewer reported peristomal skin irritation (69% vs 84%) than other belt wearers or non-wearers. These are survey associations, not proof.
Key findings
01Ostomy support belt/garment wearers reported less frequent leakage (73% vs 60%; P = .0388) and fewer reported peristomal skin irritation (69% vs 84%; P = .0080) than other belt wearers or non-wearers.
02Mean quality of life total and domain scores did not differ significantly among belt-wearing status groups.
03More frequent leakage was associated with worse quality of life in all domains, and more frequent peristomal skin irritation was associated with worse quality of life in all domains except spiritual well-being.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a self-report survey, not an experiment, so it cannot show that an ostomy support belt or garment caused fewer complications. Participants were recruited from an industry database, which may limit generalizability. Only 13.5% of invited adults responded, so respondents may not represent people with ostomies. Belt type was identified by users via manufacturer, not by the researchers.
Declared interests
Stealth Belt, Inc, the study sponsor, provided the list of potential participants from which the survey sample was randomly selected. No other conflicts are reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 73% versus 60% leakage difference or the 69% versus 84% skin irritation difference as proof that the ostomy support belt or garment prevents complications. This was a self-report survey, not a designed experiment, and quality of life scores were not shown to differ by belt group.