2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Online Program

323923
Enhancing women's lives through bladder health


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Mary Palmer, PhD, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Jennifer Wu, MD, MPH, UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Celine Marquez, BSN, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Betty Rupp, MPH, UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Diane Newman, DNP, Perelman School of Medicine,, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  
Background:  Bladder health is appropriately being recognized as an important women’s health issue as the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) such as urinary incontinence (UI) and overactive bladder (OAB) reaches 40% by age 80. Evidence exists that less than 50% of women seek healthcare for LUTS; instead they engage in behaviors to ‘manage’ their LUTS, such as altering their fluid intake to prevent or delay voiding .Thus, our objective was to revise a toileting behaviors questionnaire (TB-WEB) such that this tool can be used to develop a better understanding of women’s behaviors related to urinary elimination.

Methods: Women (N=24) aged 21 years and over from ethnically diverse backgrounds, who live in the community are being recruited to participate in focus groups, regardless of LUTS presence. A structured interview guide is used to elicit responses about the meaning of bladder health and to identify behaviors women use to empty their bladders at home and away from home. Data will be used to revise the TB-WEB to include the language women use to describe bladder health and the behaviors they use to void in the course of daily life.  Cognitive interviews will be conducted to ensure TB-WEB items are understood by women from diverse backgrounds.

Results: The study is on-going, with 8 women having participated in focus groups thus far.    

Conclusions: Information from the revised TB-WEB will be used to develop screening tools and risk profiles with the aim of reducing LUTS incidence in women across the lifespan.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the importance of bladder health to women's health across the lifespan. Describe two behaviors women say they use to manage urination at home and while away from home.

Keyword(s): Health Promotion and Education, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal or co-principal investigator on studies investigating behaviors women use that may affect bladder health. My research interests include risk factors for and correlates of lower urinary tract symptoms in adult and aging women. I am a member of the NIDDK External Expert Panel on the Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Network.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4263.0: Inequities in Access to Care and Special Topics Across the Lifespan