Urinary Incontinence Care-Seeking Barriers Among Latina Patients: What Are We Missing?

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Public Health
• Health Equity

Background:

• Urinary incontinence (UI) disproportionately affects the growing Latina population in the U.S., contributing to significant health disparities.
• High barriers to seeking UI care among Latinas may exacerbate treatment and complication rate differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare barriers to UI care-seeking among Latina, non-Latina Black, and non-Latina White patients.
• To analyze specific barriers using the Barriers to Incontinence Care Seeking Questionnaire (BICS-Q) subscales.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 298 primary care patients (83 Black, 144 Latina, 71 White).
• Utilized the BICS-Q, International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, and Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence.
• Compared BICS-Q total and subscale scores across ethnic/racial groups.

Main Results:

• Latina participants reported the highest total BICS-Q scores (11.2), followed by White (8.2) and Black (4.9) participants (P < 0.0001).
• Latina patients showed significantly higher BICS-Q subscale scores than Black patients; differences with White patients were not significant.
• Lower UI knowledge was independently associated with higher BICS-Q scores (P = 0.0078).

Conclusions:

• Latina patients and those with lower UI knowledge experience greater barriers to seeking UI care compared to Black patients.
• Interventions targeting these barriers are crucial for increasing care-seeking behaviors.
• Addressing care-seeking barriers can advance health equity in urinary incontinence management for underserved populations.