Background: Ostomy surgery can negatively affect quality of life; however, the lived experiences of individuals with ostomies in Saudi Arabia are not well understood.
Purpose: To examine how sex, ostomy type, disease diagnosis, and health care provider shape health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with ostomies in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on self-reported data of a convenience sample of 421 patients (239 male, 182 female) with ostomies (206 temporary, 211 permanent, 4 unknown) from 5 hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using the City of Hope-Quality of Life-Ostomy Questionnaire (Arabic version) and analyzed by univariate and multiple regression analyses to identify predictors of physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and overall HRQOL.
Results: HRQOL scores correlated significantly with ostomy type (temporary vs permanent), sex, and health care provider. There were no significant differences in HRQOL scores by disease diagnosis (cancer vs non-cancer).
Conclusion: Several potential predictors of HRQOL among patients with ostomies in Saudi Arabia were identified, which may assist in developing intervention strategies to improve patients' HRQOL. Additional studies are needed to understand the specific barriers in each group.