Toileting Habits of Nurses

Toileting Behaviors Related to Urination in Women: A Scoping Review

“…The authors located one randomized controlled trial (RCT), one repeated measures study, three methodological studies, three qualitative studies (i.e., semi structured interviews and focus groups), and 17 cross-sectional studies. Seven studies reported using online questionnaires [7,8,9,10,11,12,13], 14 used a field survey or postal delivered questionnaire [2,3,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25], and one study combined both a field survey and online questionnaire to collect information [26]. Three studies used uroflowmetry and sonography to measure multiple uroflowmetric parameters (e.g., maximum flow rate, Qmax and average flow rate, and Qave) and used postvoid residual (PVR) urine volume as one of the outcomes [14,15,21]; see Table S2 for an overview of the studies reviewed.…”

“…Clinical nurses and/or midwives and advanced practice providers were enrolled in seven studies [3,8,17,18,24,26,27], nonpregnant women working in academic medical centers were enrolled in three studies [7,9,10], and full-time working women without a specific job description were enrolled in one study [11]. The mean age of these women ranged from 30.2 to 51.2 years old and standard deviations ranged from 6.8 to 13.6 years old.…”

“…Authors of 19 quantitative studies reported that they used established measures or individual questionnaire items to quantify women’s toileting behaviors [2,3,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,26]. One study used two questionnaire items; the first item included multiple choice questions to elicit information about toileting behaviors used at work and the other item queried the adequacy of bathrooms at work [24]. One study employed three questionnaire items; the first item included multiple choice questions to track how often the participants delayed passing urine at work and the second and third items queried participants’ access to a toilet whenever needed and frequency of reducing fluid intake to delay or avoid passing urine at work [26].…”

“…The determinants of toileting behaviors that were identified in the quantitative studies include the TB–WEB scale items that address behaviors that women use when at home and away from home. Women’s life stage [12,15], incontinence status [8,9,16,19], history of a chronic condition, i.e., osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus [15,22,23], occupational factors (i.e., stress and employer restrictions) [3,11], adequacy, accessibility, or satisfaction with regard to workplace restrooms [16,24,26,27], and health beliefs [17] served as potential determinants of toileting behaviors; see Table S2.…”

Stressors and bathroom behaviors associated with urinary incontinence in nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Studies focusing on nurses have provided recommendations that could promote bladder health, such as addressing nurses' toileting behaviors and implementing organizational-level interventions such as adequate staffing. 14 , 18 , 19 However, unless there are hospital policies in place, along with cultural shifts addressing bathroom access practices to promote bladder health, nurses' bladder health will continue to be an occupational hazard. Although OS is a part of the job, unhealthy toileting behaviors shouldn't be.…”