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Quality of Life in US Residents With Ostomies Assessed via the SF36v2: Role-Physical, Bodily Pain, and General Health
1Thom R. Nichols, MS/MBA, Hollister Incorporated, Libertyville, Illinois.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical-role, bodily pain, and general health domains of health-related quality of life in the adult with ostomies living in the United States and to compare findings to population-based norms established using the Short Form 36 version 2 (SF36v2).
Subjects And Setting:
Study participants were identified by randomly sampling from proprietary databases. Within the United States, 2,329 completed the survey for a response rate of 14.9% and a margin of error of 2.03%.
Methods:
Secondary analysis of data from a propietary database.
Results:
A greater proportion of persons living with an ostomy experienced limitations in the physical component summary levels of the SF36v2, indicating greater impairment than the general population. In contrast, no differences in pain interference with work or other activities reductions were found between the 2 groups. Persons with ostomies reported similar levels of general health, but they were more likely to indicate they "got sick a little easier than others."
Conclusions:
Persons with ostomies report more limitations in physical activities than do individuals within the general population. In contrast, they were no more likely to report bodily pain than the general population of the United States, and no more likely to indicate pain interferes with physical activity than the general population. Additional research is needed to elucidate the nature of these limitations and potential interventions to ameliorate these effects of ostomy creation.