A Descriptive Study to Assess Quality of Life in Egyptian Patients With a Stoma

The creation of a stoma changes bodily appearance and function, which can affect quality of life (QOL). A descriptive study using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, an instrument that measures 8 physical and mental health concepts, was conducted to quantify QOL among patients with a stoma and to interpret how stoma creation affects their lives. Participants included a convenience sample of persons served by an outpatient surgery clinic in an Egyptian university hospital in Cairo between August 2013 and January 2015. Potential participants had to be 18 years of age or older, have undergone intestinal stoma surgery, live at home, be willing to participate, and not be hospitalized or have physical or psychological limitations that prevent them from participating in self-care. General demographic data and disease characteristics/reasons for stoma creation collected included age, gender, and marital status; stoma type, design, and duration; and stoma problems/complica- tions. Every patient completed the questionnaire individually or, if necessary, with the researcher's assistance; the interview took approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Demographic data were collected after stoma creation from the patient's medical pro les using a predesigned form. The SF-36 scores were linearly converted to a 0 to 100 scale, with higher scores indicating bet- ter QOL; scores were considered excellent (100), very good (84-99), good (61-83), fair (25-60), and poor (0-24). Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Independent sample t-tests and 1-way analysis of variance tests were used to compare variables, and a 2-tailed probability value of 0.05 was used to determine the level of signi cance. Mean age of the 96 par- ticipants was 44.12 ± 12.83 years, and most participants were male (58.33%), married (87.5%), and had a permanent stoma (60.42%) with mean stoma duration of 2.86 ± 0.43 years. The majority of patients (68.75%) had a colostomy. All patients (100%) reported 1 or more problems related to their stoma, including nding privacy to empty the pouch (51), problems with leakage (37), the need to adapt their clothing (69), local skin irritation (28), the presence of offensive odor and/or bowel noise (90), and dif culties participating in social activities (72). Most of the QOL subscales were in the fair QOL category range (between 49.55 ± 31.59 and 59.54 ± 30). Compared to persons with a temporary stoma, participants with a permanent stoma had signi cantly higher physical role function scores (38.76 ± 33.30 versus 70.92 ± 35.59; P %lt;.05). Patients with a stoma constructed due to trauma had higher general health scale scores than persons with a stoma constructed due to in ammatory bowel disease or colon cancer (mean [SD] 61.6 ± 31.75, 57.14 ± 26.26, and 46.55 ± 30.85, respectively; P <.05). Ostomy-speci c QOL studies are needed to increase understanding about the needs of stoma patients in Egypt; the results of this study suggest their QOL is not good and improvements in proper perioperative counseling and specialized nursing care may be needed.