Challenges encountered in community-based physiotherapy interventions for urinary incontinence among women in rural areas of Anand District of Gujarat, India

The Concerns of Community-Dwelling Older Women Living with Urinary Incontinence: Qualitative Research

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

The world including Iran is facing population aging. Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common health concerns of older women that can be accompanied by an increased sense of loneliness, social restrictions, and disruption in activities of daily living in addition to the regular challenges of old age. This study was aimed at explaining the concerns of community-dwelling older women living with UI.

METHODS

This study used the conventional, qualitative, content analysis approach with purposive sampling. Twenty interviews were conducted with 18 participants, including 15 community-dwelling older women with UI and three family members (a husband and two daughters), over the span of 14 months (from August 2021 to October 2022). The data were collected via semi-structured, face-to-face interviews until data saturation was achieved, and were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman's method.

RESULTS

The findings revealed that the concerns of older women with UI include the impasse of UI, being powerless in life, distorted social identity, and marital frustration, which fell under the main theme of sense of inadequacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Recognizing the concerns of older women with UI can make health care teams more sensitive to the importance of resolving these concerns and can offer some insight into how best to provide targeted training, support, and counseling services at individual, family, and society levels, to eventually resolve the older adult's sense of inadequacy.

Comparison of effectiveness of home-based verses supervised pelvic floor muscle exercise in women with urinary incontinence

Background:

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a significant health problem with serious physical, psychological, and social consequences. Pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) is proven efficacious in the prevention and management of UI. A lack of trained physiotherapist in rural areas mars the uptake of physiotherapy and therefore innovative mechanisms are required. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the usefulness of home-based physiotherapy in the management of UI.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 49 women, who screened positive for UI from a larger study conducted in 4 randomly selected villages of Charutar region, were included in the study. They were assigned home-based or supervised regimens randomly. All participants received education about UI and its management. A structured PFME schedule was developed. Participants in the supervised group received PFME by a trained physiotherapist, while those in the home-based group received training on exercise. Details of each session were documented through a daily diary in both groups. Revised urinary incontinence scale (RUIS) and incontinence impact questionnaire (IIQ-7) were administered at baseline and after 6 months to assess and compare the impact across groups.

Results:

Analysis of variance (with post hoc comparisons) was employed to compare the effect of physiotherapy across groups. Only 18 (10 supervised and 8 home-based group) out of 49 women participated. Another 10 provided the required data, albeit had not done any exercises. The mean standard deviation of RUIS (P = 0.84) and IIQ-7 (P = 0.55) scores was similar at baseline across the groups. The RUIS (P = 0.01) and IIQ-7 (P = 0.006) improved significantly; however, post hoc analysis revealed that both RUIS and IIQ-7 improved significantly only in the supervised group.

Conclusion:

Supervised exercise worked better, whereas home-based exercise failed to achieve the desired impact. Identifying barriers in home-based exercise and finding feasible solutions would prove a breakthrough in the management of UI in resource-limited settings.