Urinary incontinence at the women living in a nursing home and the quality of life of the women with urinary incontinence

Objectives: The objective of our study is to determine the prevalence of UI among the population who live in a nursing home and the effect of this significant problem on their quality of life. Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional research consisted of 211 elderly women who live in a nursing home in Izmir. Three forms - Information Form for the Elderly, Form for Characteristics of UI and Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (I-QOL)-were used to gather the data related to this research. Results: UI was determined among 23.2% of the elderly women included in the research. The rate of such women who sought medical advice was found to be 14.3%. It was found that almost half of the elders (46.9%) had MUI, 30.6% of elders had SUI and 22.5% of them had UUI. It was determined that majority of old women with UI did not take any treatment (85.7%) and used menstruation pad as the protective material (71.4%). The mean I-QOL score was found to be 72.80 +/- 18.97. Conclusion: Despite the fact that UI is a frequently encountered geriatric syndrome in the elderly, it has a low diagnosis rate. This problem affects the quality of life of the individual negatively in physical, economic, and psychosocial terms. As a consequence, the awareness of both women and healthcare professionals should be raised about the importance of the complaint of UI.