Assessment and management of urinary incontinence in women

Représentations sociales de l’incontinence urinaire : une enquête auprès de la population française

INTRODUCTION

Urinary incontinence is a major public health problem. Although, as a condition, it is well documented in the literature, there is little information on its social representations. The study of its representations could make it possible to improve the way it is handled and the treatment suffers receive.

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

The aim of this study was to understand the representations of the general French population on the subject of urinary incontinence.

METHODS

This involved carrying out a declarative quantitative study using questionnaires. To do this, 1803 people were surveyed all over France. First, a descriptive statistical analysis was carried out using the participants’ socio-demographic data. Second, a logistic regression-type association was made between the dependent and independent variables.

RESULTS

Urinary incontinence elicits a certain level of disgust in the general population. Still a taboo subject, it seems to be of little interest to some members of the population. The condition is also often poorly understood, especially by men, the younger generations, and the inhabitants of urban areas in western France.

CONCLUSIONS

This quantitative study helped shed key light on the French population’s perceptions of urinary incontinence and the methods of prevention available. It also helped determine the participant profiles associated with these representations. Going forward, it seems worthwhile to focus on informing and educating these populations on the subject.

A holistic approach to assessing an individual with urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence can have an overwhelmingly negative impact on an individual's quality of life. The personal, physical, psychosocial and sexual implications of urinary incontinence can affect health and well-being. This can increase the risk of falls, depression, anxiety, social isolation alongside a greater need for long-term care from a individual's own home. Statically, the prevalence rates of urinary incontinence increases with age; however, incontinence is not an inevitable or acceptable part of ageing-symptoms can be improved and managed effectively for suffers of this common condition. Urinary incontinence can be challenging to assess, address and overcome for individuals. However health professionals need to have the expertise and experience to undertake a comprehensive continence assessment. When assessment is completed evidence-based interventions can be recommended, implemented and subsequently evaluated.

Urinary incontinence and the impact on migrant individuals with intellectual disability

Enhancing and enriching the health and wellbeing of migrant individuals with intellectual disability is essential in our diverse society. The needs of this population can be substantial, but unfortunately migrant individuals with intellectual disability face many challenges, from accessing health services, cultural complexities, financial difficulties, and language barriers, to lack of knowledge on the availability of particular services. Although a common condition, urinary incontinence remains a taboo subject and many individuals do not seek intervention even though it impacts on all aspects of their life. The migrant individual who has an intellectual disability may be unable to understand information that is provided, unable to gain knowledge, access educational material to promote continence and manage incontinence. This article considers what is known on the subject of urinary incontinence for an individual with intellectual disability from the migrant community in Ireland.

Incontinencia urinaria: causas y cuidados de enfermería. Una revisión bibliográfica

frecuencia en el sexo femenino y conforme aumenta la edad, provocando una disminución de la calidad de vida.Objetivo: Sintetizar la evidencia científica relacionada con las causas, tratamiento y cuidados de enfermería en la incontinencia urinaria.Metodología: Se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica sistematizada en las bases de datos Proquest, Pubmed, Google Académico y Scielo, utilizando como términos "incontinencia urinaria" (urinary incontinence), "factoresde riesgo" (risk factor), "intervenciones de enfermería"(nursing intervention) y "procedimientos terapeúticos"(therapeutics), con una limitación de 5 años en la búsqueda. Se incluyeron estudios experimentales y de revisión.Resultados: Se incluyeron 26 artículos: 5 estudios experimentales,18 revisiones sistemáticas y 3 metaanálisis.La incontinencia urinaria está relacionada con la edad, sexo y factores de riesgo, dependiendo del tipo e intensidad de la incontinencia, y características propias del paciente. El abordaje es interdisciplinar, con técnicasmenos invasivas al principio, entre las que destacan la terapia conductual y los ejercicios del suelo pélvico; necesitándose cirugía en algunos casos, según las circunstanciasindividuales de los pacientes y/o la no existenciade mejoría con las técnicas menos invasivas.Conclusiones: La incontinencia urinaria se encuentra estrechamente relacionada con la edad y el sexo; sin embargo, la existencia de factores de riesgo y algunas causas pueden contribuir a aumentar las probabilidadesde su establecimiento. La labor enfermera resulta prometedora en el establecimiento de una detección y actuación precoz ante el problema, teniendo como base siempre para el tratamiento el menor grado de invasión.