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[Expectancy in urinary incontinence treatment from the perspective of an elderly population]
F J Gavira Iglesias1, J M Caridad y Ocerín, M V Pavón Aranguren
1Centro de Salud de Cabra, Córdoba. med015490@nacom.es
Aims:
To determine the attitudes of community-dwelling elderly patients about the possibilities for cure of urinary incontinence.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Interventions:
A specific questionnaire on urinary incontinence and the Barthel Index Modified by Shah.
Location:
Basic Health Zone of Cabra (Córdoba, Spain).
Patients:
A random age-stratified sample of 793 patients selected from a total of 5139 persons > or = 65 years of age.
Measurements:
Home interview on urinary incontinence (presence, characteristics, patient attitude regarding possibilities for cure).
Principal Results:
Forty-eight percent of elderly persons felt that incontinence could be cured, 21% thought that it could be improved, 9% stated that nothing could be done about it and the remaining 22% had no opinion. A significant association was found between the type of response and age, sex, state of health as perceived by the subject and level of self-care. The presence of incontinence did not influence the nature of the responses given by patients about the possibilities for successful treatment of incontinence.
Conclusions:
Our elderly persons were not aware of the possibilities for treatment of incontinence, a fact that may have a negative impact on sufferers seeking help for this remediable problem.