Dados do Trabalho

Título

THE HELP-SEEKING FOR OVERACTIVE BLADDER SYNDROME AND STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE IN EMPLOYEES OF A PUBLIC HOSPITAL: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Resumo

Introduction: Compare the discomfort, quality of life (QOL), and help-seeking among employees of a Brazilian public hospital with overactive bladder syndrome (OABS) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Our hypothesis was the help-seeking would be greater than in the general population, for being employees of a hospital, and mostly employees in the health area. Also, we hypothesized that the help-seeking would be greater in those with wet OABS (WOABS), due to the impairment of QOL.
Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study with 118 women divided into WOABS (n = 42); Dry OABS (DOABS) (n = 46); and SUI (n = 30), using International Consultation Incontinence Questionnaire Short-Form (ICIQ-SF) and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB). Help-seeking behavior was assessed by asking women whether they consulted health care professionals or received treatment for symptoms. Results: WOABS presented worse QOL in relation to DOABS (mean difference [DM] = 0.21; 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.27) and SUI (DM = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.26) (p<0.001), and also a higher level of discomfort (p<0.0001). No differences were found between the groups regarding the QOL and the level of discomfort (respectively, p=0.093 and p=0.780), considering the help-seeking. Only 26 (22%) sought treatment (12 WOABS, 8 DOABS, and 6 SUI; p = 0.429), the main reason being that the symptoms are not overly bothersome (13%). Conclusion: The help-seeking among health care professionals with WOABS, DOABS, and SUI was low. WOABS presented worse QOL and greater discomfort but without difference in the help-seeking behavior.

Palavras Chave ( separado por ; )

Overactive bladder; Urinary incontinence; Stress urinary incontinence; Help-seeking behavior; Quality of life; Bother