Urinary incontinence in health workers as a predisposing factor for presenteeism in Chile: A mixed-methods exploratory study

INTRODUCTION Urinary incontinence negatively impacts the quality of life and can harm work activities, causing presenteeism in health professionals and decreasing the quality of care and patient safety. The objective of this study is to explore the self-perception of health workers who suffer from urinary incontinence as a predisposing factor for presenteeism. METHODS Mixed study of an exploratory-descriptive nature. The sample was selected in a non-probabilistic and intentional way by criterion and convenience with a size of 14 volunteers, considering the saturation of the information. Reliability criteria defined by Guba for the process and analysis of thematic data were considered. RESULTS The sample had a mean age of 38.9 + 7.1 years and a mean SPS-6 score of 15.8 + 3.5 points, showing alteration in the dimension of avoiding deconcentration. The narratives in the case study provide relevant information on how urinary incontinence affects the work performance of health workers through the interruption in their day, decreases the quality of clinical care, and increases their anxiety regarding their environment. CONCLUSIONS Urinary incontinence and presenteeism are subjective, and multidimensional experiences affect work performance. Therefore, further studies are recommended to identify predictor variables and the economic losses associated with this condition to establish improvements in the work environment and the self-care of female employees seeking greater benefits and better levels of efficiency in the organization.