Why is education for pelvic floor muscle exercises a neglected public health issue?

Abstract

Key Phrases Barriers exist for women surrounding Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (PFME) and there is a need to find innovative ways to engage women. Women expressed different perceptions about the anatomy of the pelvic floor, therefore more education is required. Women want more information from midwives, but midwives lack of confidence in providing education about PFME. Frequency and gestation should be standardised for PFME. Why are Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (PFME) a Neglected Public Health Issue? AbstractPelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME) positively impact on urinary stress incontinence and quality of life for women. A search was performed on Cochrane, Cinahl and Discover More. Delimiting the search provided 28 papers which informed this literature review. Differing methodology and small sample size of individual studies, variation in trainer and the design of PFME education limited the evidence base. Many barriers existed and women were disinterested with PFME or did not know the reasons for performing pelvic floor exercises. Those who were young, in their first pregnancy and from deprived areas were less likely to perform PFME, as they had no access to 2 information or believed they were not necessary. Midwives lacked confidence in their knowledge and suggested other professionals perform health promotion better. It is important to investigate how midwives influence education about PFME and women's perceptions. This paper concludes that new and creative methods of health promotion are needed to engage women with PFME more effectively.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction After Childbirth: Occupational Impact and Awareness of Available Treatment

“…The cost of outpatient office-based physician (or ambulatory) services for the treatment of PFD was estimated to be US$412 million between 2005 and 2006, which has been estimated to increase by 42.7% in 2050 (Dieter et al, 2015; Sung et al, 2010). Even with the rate of national expenditure for PFD treatment, the lack of education presented to women regarding available treatment and rehabilitation options for PFD has been identified as a neglected public health issue (Dickinson & Briscoe, 2017). A recent cross-sectional study of 346 U.S. women discovered that knowledge of PFD symptoms was non-proficient among the majority—with 46.4% demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of POP and only 28% demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of UI (Chen et al, 2019).…”