Life satisfaction and self-efficacy in patients with stoma

Introduction: There are many indications for a stoma surgery; however, most frequently it is the severity and progression of colorectal cancer. The result of surgical procedure is frequently a stoma. In view of the increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer and delaying stoma surgery particular attention should be paid to the aspects of quality of life and adaptation to a new life situation in patients with a stoma. Purpose: To evaluate satisfaction with life and management of difficult situations in people with the stoma. Materials and methods: The study included 200 people from three provinces: Podkarpackie, Małopolska, and Zachodniopomorskie. The study was performed by means of a diagnostic survey in a form of the author’s questionnaire and two standardized tools: the SWLS (satisfaction with life scale) and the GSES (generalized self-efficacy scale). A chi-square test for independence was used for a statistical analysis. Results: The research found that for 56.5% of the respondents a stoma formation had a strong negative impact on their functioning both in personal, family and social life. In the opinion of 12.5% of the respondents intestinal stoma was the reason for giving up work. It was also found that there was a correlation between the level of satisfaction with life and education - higher education favors a higher level of satisfaction with life. Conclusions: This study showed that there is a positive relationship between the level of life satisfaction and the sense of self-efficacy. The higher self-efficacy, the higher satisfaction with life among the respondents were found.