Urinary Incontinence and Health-Seeking Behavior Among White, Black, and Latina Women.

Abstract

Objective

Fewer than half of women with urinary incontinence (UI) seek care for their condition. Our objective was to qualitatively assess the themes surrounding treatment-seeking behaviors.

Methods

We conducted 12 focus groups with women and, using purposive sampling, we stratified by racial or ethnic group (white, black, Latina) and by UI frequency. All sessions were transcribed and coded for common themes. Comparative thematic analysis was used to describe similarities and differences among groups.

Results

In total, 113 (39 white, 41 black, and 33 Latina) community-dwelling women participated in focus groups. There were no differences in treatment-seeking themes between groups with different UI frequency. However, certain themes emerged when comparing racial/ethnic groups. Women from all groups shared experiences of embarrassment and isolation because of UI, which were impediments to care seeking. White and black women described discussions with close friends or family that led to normalization of symptoms and prevented care seeking. Latina women maintained more secrecy about UI and reported the longest delays in seeking care. Women articulated a higher likelihood of seeking care if they had knowledge of treatment options, but white women were more likely to seek UI-related knowledge compared with black or Latina women. Physician communication barriers were identified in all groups.

Conclusions

Despite similar experiences, there are different perceptions about care seeking among white, black, and Latina women. Culturally relevant educational resources that focus on a range of treatment options may improve knowledge and thus improve care-seeking behaviors in women with UI.

Department

Description

Provenance

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1097/spv.0000000000000286

Publication Info

Siddiqui, Nazema Y, Natalie Ammarell, Jennifer M Wu, Jennifer M Wu, Juan S Sandoval and Hayden B Bosworth (2016). Urinary Incontinence and Health-Seeking Behavior Among White, Black, and Latina Women. Female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgery, 22(5). pp. 340–345. 10.1097/spv.0000000000000286 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/29916.

This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.

Scholars@Duke

Siddiqui

Nazema Yusuf Siddiqui

Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Research on pelvic floor disorders. Specific interests include: 1) studying the urinary microbiome in aging, recurrent urinary tract infections, and overactive bladder; 2) pathophysiology of overactive bladder with particular emphasis on translational biology.

Bosworth

Hayden Barry Bosworth

Professor in Population Health Sciences

Dr. Bosworth is a health services researcher and Deputy Director of the Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT)  at the Durham VA Medical Center. He is also Vice Chair of Education and Professor of Population Health Sciences. He is also a Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in Health Policy and Administration at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests comprise three overarching areas of research: 1) clinical research that provides knowledge for improving patients’ treatment adherence and self-management in chronic care; 2) translation research to improve access to quality of care; and 3) eliminate health care disparities. 

Dr. Bosworth is the recipient of an American Heart Association established investigator award, the 2013 VA Undersecretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research (The annual award is the highest honor for VA health services researchers), and a VA Senior Career Scientist Award. In terms of self-management, Dr. Bosworth has expertise developing interventions to improve health behaviors related to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and depression, and has been developing and implementing tailored patient interventions to reduce the burden of other chronic diseases. These trials focus on motivating individuals to initiate health behaviors and sustaining them long term and use members of the healthcare team, particularly pharmacists and nurses. He has been the Principal Investigator of over 30 trials resulting in over 400 peer reviewed publications and four books. This work has been or is being implemented in multiple arenas including Medicaid of North Carolina, private payers, The United Kingdom National Health System Direct, Kaiser Health care system, and the Veterans Affairs.

Areas of Expertise: Health Behavior, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Health Measurement, and Health Policy


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