The impact of urinary incontinence on female nursing personnel

Abstract

RESUMOThe prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) was acessed, its interference in the performance of daily occupational activities and its management among the women's nurse staff of a medical school hospital in Campinas, São Paulo. Of the 291 employers, 27.5% reported UI complaint at least monthly. The activities that required greater effort increased the urinary loss, what resulted in stress, feeling embarrassed and lack of concentration at work. The use of pad was the most frequent strategy at management of UI and sometimes the task could not be interrupted to use the restroom. In conclusion, the activities that require more effort and the difficulty for an adequate management of the UI in workplace increase the problem and interfere on professional performance. Descriptors: Urinary incontinence; Women's health; Nursing. RESUMO Foi identificada a prevalência de incontinência urinária (IU), sua interferência nas atividades ocupacionais diárias e seu manejo entre mulheres profissionais de enfermagem de um hospital de ensino de

Psychocultural meanings of urinary incontinence in women: a review

“…Women mention the fear of losing their jobs or changing their work functions because of labor restrictions, causing limitations in activities that demand physical effort, and constant interruptions to go to the restroom because of higher micturition frequency (4)(5) . For elderly women, the fear of the odor was shown to have a high impact on social restrictions, with the most affected practices being going to places where there is no restroom and taking longer trips (5) .…”

“…Among the younger women, besides the aforementioned complaints, they report shame when this "disgrace" happens in public, especially in social events with friends and during sports practice (4)(5) .…”

“…Women frequently disregard symptoms when the disturbances caused by incontinence are small; they feel ashamed when they have to report their problem to a professional, omit the fact in family life and generally suffer in silence (4) .…”

“…Women adopt self-care measures as a way to minimize urinary loss, although they acknowledge that many are harmful to their health, such as the continuous usage of absorbent pads and hydric restriction, which may trigger dermatologic problems and urinary infections (4,5,21) . …”

“…Considering people over 60 years old, according to the evaluation of quality of life measured by the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ), emotional factors were shown to be the most affected. Nearly one third of the respondents mentioned nervousness, shame or frustration because of their UI; the social dominance and fear of the odor scored as highest impac (3) , since urinary loss restricts contact with co-workers (4) and physical proximity with people in general (5) .…”