Assessment of the Brazilian Women’s Knowledge, Users of Primary Health Care, About Urinary Incontinence

Karine Alves Maia A1, Vasconcelos Neto J1, Teixeira Moreira Vasconcelos C1, Maria de Vasconcelos Oliveira N1, da Silva Coelho J1, Mendes Alves F1

Research Type

Clinical

Abstract Category

Prevention and Public Health

Abstract 75
Prevention and public health
Scientific Podium Short Oral Session 8
Wednesday 23rd October 2024
14:30 - 14:37
Hall N106
Incontinence Female Questionnaire
1. Universidade Federal do Ceará
Presenter
Links

Abstract

Hypothesis / aims of study
The Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a distressing condition that represents a significant and prevalent health issue among women, negatively impacting their quality of life. Despite its high prevalence, women with UI presents an avoidant healthcare-seeking behavior, which may reflect a lack of knowledge regarding its etiology, perpetuating and favoring long-term clinical deterioration. Concurrently, researchers have been utilizing the KAP Survey Model to assess the level of knowledge, perception, and attitude towards a specific subject. Thus, this study aims to investigate the knowledge of women, users of primary health care services, about UI based on the KAP Survey Model.
Study design, materials and methods
For this purpose, an observational Cross-Sectional Cohort study was conducted in a rural city in Northeast Brazil, involving 345 women aged 18 years or older, who were users of primary health care. Data collection was performed through an electronic form, between May and November 2023, based on four questionnaires: an authorial questionnaire to assess sociodemographic, obstetric, and clinical data; the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), to evaluate the presence of UI and its severity; the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ), to assess the impact of UI on quality of life; and the KAP Survey Model related to the Urinary Incontinence (KAP-UI), to assess participants' level of knowledge about the UI. The data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test or Pearson's chi-square test for dichotomous variables, besides Mann-Whitney test for mean and standard deviation, and T-test for mean comparison.
Results
The Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a distressing condition that represents a significant and prevalent health issue among women, negatively impacting their quality of life. Despite its high prevalence, women with UI presents an avoidant healthcare-seeking behavior, which may reflect a lack of knowledge regarding its etiology, perpetuating and favoring long-term clinical deterioration. Concurrently, researchers have been utilizing the KAP Survey Model to assess the level of knowledge, perception, and attitude towards a specific subject. Thus, this study aims to investigate the knowledge of women, users of primary health care services, about UI based on the KAP Survey Model. For this purpose, an observational Cross-Sectional Cohort study was conducted in a rural city in Northeast Brazil, involving 345 women aged 18 years or older, who were users of primary health care. Data collection was performed through an electronic form, between May and November 2023, based on four questionnaires: an authorial questionnaire to assess sociodemographic, obstetric, and clinical data; the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), to to assess the presence of UI and its severity; the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) to assess the impact of UI on quality of life; and the KAP Survey Model related to the Urinary Incontinence (KAP-UI), To assess participants' responses regarding the level of knowledge about urinary incontinence. The data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test or Pearson's chi-square test for dichotomous variables, besides Mann-Whitney test for mean and standard deviation, and T-test for mean comparison. The sample consisted mainly of women aged 18 to 98 years old, 42% were married, 43.2% having completed high school, 71% self-identified as mixed-race, and 46.4% engaged in paid activity. Correlating age with prevalence of UI in younger women, aged 18 to 38 years, it was observed that lower education and lower salaries favored inadequate knowledge. Most participants (99.7%, n=344) recognized UI as a health issue, and 91.6% (n=316) stated that UI is more prevalent in the female population and can occur at any stage of life. However, over half of the sample (55.4%, n=191) considered urinary leakage during pregnancy to be normal. Among the participants, 22.3% (n=77) couldn't name any risk factors for UI, and, among those who did, pelvic organ prolapse was the most mentioned (48.1%, n=166), followed by pregnancy, delivery and instrumental delivery (22.9%, n=79). Only 20.6% (n=71) considered pelvic floor as an important factor for urinary continence.
Interpretation of results
Our research demonstrates a concerning finding, in which over half of the women consider UI normal during pregnancy, and among these, the majority had this complaint, and 22.3% were unaware of the risk factors for this condition. Low education, low salary, being retired or unemployed, were associated with inadequate knowledge (p<0.05).
Concluding message
Therefore, it is necessary to promote health education among the entire female population about risk factors, the important role of the pelvic floor, and preventive measures to reduce the prevalence of UI and its consequent impacts on women.
References
  1. RIBEIRO, Gabriela Lima et al. Scale of pregnant women’s assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice related to urinary incontinence. International Urogynecology Journal, v. 33, n. 6, p. 1503-1509, 2021.
Disclosures
Funding None Clinical Trial No Subjects Human Ethics Committee Federal University of Ceara CAAE: 67672923.0.0000.5054 Helsinki Yes Informed Consent Yes
Citation

Continence 12S (2024) 101417
DOI: 10.1016/j.cont.2024.101417

20/11/2024 04:30:48