Background:: irritation to peristomal skin remains one of the most prevalent ostomy-related complications influencing an individual's health status and quality of life.
Aims:: to assess the impact of damaged peristomal skin on the health utility and quality-adjusted life days (QALD) in an international adult ostomy population.
Methods:: a cross-sectional survey incorporating the SF-6D preference-based health utility index was developed to assess a random selection of post-surgical patients.
Findings:: health utility decreased with increasing skin irritation among the three geographic groups. The total mean health utility of normal peristomal skin for the three groups dropped incrementally for mild, moderate, and severe irritation. There were no differences in health utility or QALDs between the three country groups.
Conclusion:: improvement of peristomal skin health is associated with improvements to QALDs. Clinicians, caregivers and patients have the responsibility to address a critical unmet need in skin health through interventions and products designed to support healthy peristomal skin.
Keywords: Health utility; Irritated peristomal skin; Peristomal skin complications; Quality of life; Quality-adjusted life days; Skin health; Skin injury.