Paper
Thursday, 20 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Interventions for Women's Health Issues
Levels of Comfort and Ease Among Patients Suffering from Urinary Incontinency
Liora Dubches, BS1, Ana Livshitz, BS1, Michal Rassin, PhD2, Miri Berger, MA3, and Dina Silner, MA3. (1) Urologic Ward, Assaf Harofe Medical Center, Zerifin, Israel, (2) Nursing Research, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zrifine, Beer- Yaakov, Israel, (3) Nursing Administration, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Zrifine, Beer- Yaakov, Israel
Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to describe the personal and clinical characteristics of women who suffer from urinary incontinency
Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to Identify the needs of the patients suffer from urinary incontinency
Urinary incontinency is a common phenomenon among women, which harms social ties, and is perceived as embarrassing and insolvable. Despite its importance and prevalence, there are few studies that examined how those who are affected by this phenomenon feel.
The gole of the research was to examine the personal characteristics and levels of comfort among women who suffer from urinary incontinency.
The research included fifty women who diagnosed as suffering from urinary incontinence. The participants answered the Urinary Incontinence and Frequency Comfort Questionnaire (UIFCQ).
The findings indicated that urinary incontinency occurred from several times a day to several times a week, as a result of sneezing, coughing, and laughing. Most participants delayed referral to treatment up to three years. The level of general comfort was medium low (SD=0.04, M=2.95), from a possible range of 1 to 6. Especially low level of comfort was recorded on items such as: “I feel clean and fresh”, “finding a toilet in close proximity is a worrying issue when I exit the house”, and “I fear having sex due to the Urinary incontinency problem”. Items significantly linked to the level of general comfort, (r=0.66, F=6.05, p=0.00), were: “no one understands me”, “I feel lack of control over my life”, “I feel tense”, and “I have no sufficient information on the subject”.
Identifying patients’ needs and understanding their feelings might be a useful basis for nursing intervention in promoting their quality of life. It is recommended to produce an informative brochure aimed at increasing public awareness to the problem and its treatments. Due to the lack of social support, it is recommended to create an array of support groups for these women.

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)