| Author: | Chiu, Lai-ping Grace |
| Title: | Risk factors of urinary incontinence and its impacts on quality of life among Hong Kong Chinese women |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Urinary incontinence -- Patients -- Research Women -- Health and hygiene -- China -- Hong Kong |
| Department: | School of Nursing |
| Pages: | vii, 69, [24] leaves ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Background: About 40% of Chinese women aged over 40 years experienced some levels of urinary stress incontinence in Hong Kong. Urinary stress incontinence (USI) to a certain degree affect the women's quality of life, but only a small number of these women seek medical care. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors of USI of Hong Kong Chinese women and the impacts on their quality of life, as well as to explore the patterns of health care seeking behaviours and reasons associated with delay in health seeking among women suffered from urinary incontinence (UI). Methods: This is a case-control study, comparing three groups of women. The cases are women who attend a urology clinic in the West Cluster of New Territories, and the controls were recruited from the community, with women who are symptomatic of USI and those who are considered continent. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the possible risks, the severity of symptom, the Quality of life, and health seeking behaviours of women with urinary incontinence. Results: A total of 216 women aged 36-60 were recruited from May to August 2005 into the study. Ninety-one women referred to the urology unit for urodynamic study or pelvic floor exercise training were recruited as cases, and 125 women were recruited in the community, 79 women were symptomatic of USI and 46 women are considered continent according to the responses given to the continence questions. The study results showed age, waist to hip ratio (>0.81), reports of habitual constipation, frequent UTI, mother with history of UI, parity ( 2) and vaginal delivery ( 2 times) were significant risk of urinary stress incontinence. Women with urinary incontinence had lower quality of life score (mean score 87.2 in cases, 106.0 in symptomatic) than the continent women (114.7) with p<0.05. Study results also showed that 46 (51.7%) women in the case group and 25 (35.2%) women in the community symptomatic group reported that they had urinary incontinent more than 1-5 years. There are 31 (34.1%) women in the case group were delayed to seek help from 1 to 5 years, and 22 (24.2%) were over five years. Women 55 (60.5%) in the cases group claimed that the symptom was not severe enough for them to seek help immediately. There are as much as 73 (92.4%) women in the symptomatic group who have not sought medical care for their symptoms, and that 51 (64.5%) of them reasoned that their symptom is not severe enough to seek medical care. Conclusion: Women in Hong Kong are suffering from USI without seeking medical care for their urinary problems. Health care professionals should provide health education and professional advice to women in the community on urinary incontinence. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b18939454.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 4.12 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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