# Understanding the associations between receipt of, and interest in, advice from a healthcare professional and quality of life in individuals with a stoma from colorectal cancer: a latent profile analysis

## TL;DR

People with a stoma from colorectal cancer vary in quality of life, and those with lower quality of life want more advice from healthcare professionals.

## Contribution

This study identifies distinct quality of life profiles and their associations with advice-seeking behavior in stoma patients.

## Key findings

- Five distinct quality of life profiles were identified among stoma patients.
- Profiles with lower quality of life showed stronger interest in receiving advice across multiple areas.
- Tailoring advice to specific patient profiles may improve outcomes.

## Abstract

To explore whether profiles derived from self-reported quality of life were associated with receipt of, and interest in, advice from a healthcare professional in people with a stoma.

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional national survey data from England of 4487 people with a stoma from colorectal cancer. The survey assessed quality of life using various scales, receipt and interest in various forms of advice, and physical activity. A three-step latent profile analysis was conducted to determine the optimum number of profiles. Multinomial regression explored factors associated with profile membership. A series of logistic regression models examined whether profile membership was associated with interest in advice.

Five profiles were identified; ‘consistently good quality of life’, ‘functional issues’, ‘functional and financial issues’, ‘low quality of life’ and ‘supported but struggling’. Individuals in the ‘functional and financial issues’ and ‘low quality of life’ profiles were more likely to have received financial advice compared to the ‘consistently good quality of life’ profile. When compared to the ‘consistently good quality of life’ profile, all other profiles were more likely to report wanting advice across a range of areas, with the strongest associations in the ‘low quality of life’ profile.

Findings indicate that people with a stoma are not a homogenous group in terms of quality of life. Participants in profiles with quality of life concerns report wanting more advice across various categories but findings suggest there is scope to explore how this can be tailored or adapted to specific groups.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-024-08657-2.