Identifying latent classes amongst patients with a stoma based upon their self-reported quality of life

Project reference number – 0062

Principal Investigator – William Goodman

Plain language summary - It is estimated that there are currently over 100,000 people in the UK living with a stoma.   A stoma is where a section of the bowel is brought out through an opening that is made on the stomach area (abdomen), and bowel movements (poo) are collected in a pouch or bag attached to the skin around the stoma.  A stoma is often needed as part of the treatment for bowel cancer.  Some stomas can later be reversed but just over half are thought to be permanent. 

It is known that some people have problems learning to living with a stoma, due to complications with using the stoma bag or physical problems because of the stoma. This can have a negative effect on a person's quality of life.  However, we do not know whether there are some people who are more prone to having problems and what role the advice and support from healthcare professionals has in this. 

This study will use information from a national survey which asked bowel cancer patients about their quality of life. It will use the information to look at whether there are groups of patients with a stoma with different patterns of responses (e.g. low/high quality of life groups). It will then look at whether these groups differ from one another on factors such as age, gender and long-standing conditions. The information will also be used to see whether the groups differ in the support they received and whether they wanted to receive more support.