The Relationship between Psychological Disorders and Quality of Life in Stoma Patients with Cancer

Introduction: The health of individuals depends on both their physical and psychologicalconditions. In recent years, studies have revealed that chronic conditions lead to some psychologicaldisorders in patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to quantify psychological disorders in stomapatients and determine whether this had any relationship with their quality of life (QoL).Materials Methods: The present descriptive-analytic study was conducted in the city of Isfahanin 2016. convenience sampling method was used to select 70 participants from patients attendinga particular wound clinic. The data collection instrument was based on DASS21 and the City ofHope Quality of Life-Ostomy Questionnaire. Official permission and ethical approval for the studywere granted by the research and technology department of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences(ethics code IR.QUMS.REC.1394.353). Based on the normal distribution of data, Pearson’sCorrelation Coefficient was performed, and data were analysed using SPSS-22.Results: Among 70 Muslim participants in the study, around half were women (51.4%). In terms ofstoma type, 67% of them had colostomy, and others had an ileostomy. The mean period of lifewith stoma was just over years. The mean scores for stress, anxiety and depression were 10.6(±5.8), 13.1 (±4.8), and 10.9 (±5.4), respectively. The mean of the total QoL score was 4.4 (±0.7).In terms of physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions, the mean QoL scores were 5.7(±0.8), 4.2 (±0.7), 3.4 (±0.7) and 4.7 (±1.1), respectively. Pearson’s Correlation test showed thatthere was an inverse and significant correlation between stress (rr=-0.731, p<0.001), anxiety (rr=-0.748, p<0.001), and depression (rr=-0.803, p<0.001) and QoL Conclusion: In this study, psychological disorders were high among participants, and their QoLwas affected in all dimensions. In addition to this, there was an inverse relationship between stress,anxiety, and depression with QoL. Thus, health-care planners and caregivers have to pay greatattention to this matter and consider specific measures to prevent and treat patients’ stress, anxiety,and depression and improve their quality of life.