Talking to women about urinary incontinence

aehunter1@leeds.ac.uk, @aeh_health

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The importance of fine communication is key to good nursing care and impacts nurses from the start of their careers, enshrined in skilled standards, policies and guidelines ( Department of Health and Social Care, 2015, Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2015, NICE, 2012 ). But in terms of urinary incontinence, how confident do nurses feel talking to women about their symptoms?

Numerous women suffer from urinary incontinence (UI), and because the population ages, the number of ladies experiencing symptoms may increase. Despite the ubiquity of the user interface, it is usually considered stigmatizing, which can influence help-seeking behavior; many ladies don’t seek help from health care professionals for his or her symptoms. This could also be compounded by the idea that user interface is normal or natural and a consequence of aging or childbirth. Navigating the subject of UI could be difficult and a few people might not be aware of the supply of help, but evidence suggests that these women do contact health professionals for other conditions and concerns (Shaw et al., 2006).

Since some women seek health care services for other conditions, this may increasingly provide a chance for nurses to lift the subject of user interface. While there may theoretically be opportunities to have interaction before in search of help, the stigma of urinary incontinence has been found to increase beyond those experiencing symptoms. Continence care is usually perceived as “dirty work” and fewer essential than other forms of care (Ostaszkiewicz et al., 2016). If continence care is just not all the time prioritized and is subject to cultural influences, it might be unrealistic to expect that every one nurses could have the arrogance (or willingness) to initiate conversations about continence. Terminology related to urinary incontinence is typically poorly understood by patients, which might result in misunderstandings in communication.

Women who write blogs use a variety of linguistic devices to enable authors to explain their UI experiences, including casual references and jokes, to sidestep the chance of overt stigmatization from others. Perhaps considering a “softer” approach that acknowledges difficulties in disclosure could help nurses guide conversations about continence.

1. Should nurses actively discuss continence during other health consultations/interventions?

2. Which could facilitate more open discussions between nurses and patients about continence problems

3. Do women have sufficient opportunities to reveal continence problems?

4. Do nurses’ attitudes influence conversations with women about caring for individuals with urinary incontinence?

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 2015. NHS Constitution for England IN:CARE, DOHAS (ed.). London, England: Williams Lea.

PRETTY. 2012. Patient experiences of adult NHS services: improving the experience of take care of people using adult NHS services. Clinical Guideline 138 [CG138] [Online]. England: NICE. Available: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg138[Accessed170518[Accessed170518[Dostęp170518[Accessed170518

NURSE AND MIDWIDTH COUNCIL 2015. Code. Professional standards of practice and conduct for nurses and midwives. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council.

OSTASZKIEWICZ, J., O’CONNELL, B. & DUNNING, T. 2016. “We’re just doing the dirty work”: coping with urinary incontinence, courtesy stigma and low skilled status of care in long-term elder care facilities. Journal of Clinical Nursing,252528-2541.

SHAW, C., DAS GUPTA, R., BUSHNELL, D. M., ASSASSA, R. P., ABRAMS, P., WAGG, A., MAYNE, C., HARDWICK, C. and MARTIN, M. 2006. The Exent and Severity of Urinary incontinence in women in GP waiting rooms within the UK. Family Practice,23497-506.

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