Aim of the study

Analysis of the impact of systematic physical activity on the level and quality of life of people with intestinal stoma.

Material and methods

Eighty people with an established intestinal stoma associated with the Pomeranian Stoma Association were examined. To assess the quality of life, the Abbreviated Version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Best Available Techniques Reference Document (WHOQOL-BREF) was used. Assessment of physical activity was based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – Polish version. In order to collect socio-demographic data, the author’s own questionnaire was used. The statistical package IBM SPSS 23 was used for statistical analysis of the collected data. In the obtained calculations, p < 0.005 was used as the significance level.

Results

After the emergence of the stoma, only half of the respondents (50%) continued their physical activity from the period before the emergence, and 46% indicated that they did not feel at ease while exercising. On the basis of the results obtained, the physical activity of the respondents was sufficient, and the respondents most often defined their quality of life as average. The collected data showed that people who were not economically active were not sufficiently physically active (p = 0.021). The study did not show a significant relationship between the level of physical activity and quality of life.

Conclusions

Physical activity is significantly conditioned by the professional activity of people with intestinal stoma. Socio-demographic factors do not differentiate the level of physical activity of people with intestinal fistula. Physical activity does not significantly affect the quality of their lives.