How Women Conceptualize Urinary Incontinence: A Cultural Model

Abstract

A small core of salient emic terms reflects a shared cultural understanding of female UI. The cultural model includes emotional and physical elements. These findings are important in reframing and reexamining our understanding of female UI. Next steps include testing the cultural model by including salient terms used by women living with long-term UI in focus groups and clinical encounters.

Elderly Women and Urinary Incontinence in Long-Term Care

“…UI has been associated with several disease processes and is reported to be one of the major causes of admission to long-term care facilities (Beji et al, 2010;Bradway et al, 2010;Coward et al, 1995;Du Moulinet al, 2009;Edwards, 2001;MacDonald & Butler, 2007;Norton & Brubaker, 2006;Thom et al, 1997). Yet, there is minimal research regarding the psychosocial impact of UI on elderly women.…”

“…UI is commonly concealed to preserve a women's sense of identity, and accepted as a normal part of ageing and being a woman (Bradway et al, 2010;Bush et al, 2001;Stewart, 2010). Frequently, elderly women lack knowledge of treatments that are available and are not often presented with opportunities to discuss or explain their UI with healthcare providers (Mardon et al, 2006;Zeznock et al, 2009;Dugan et al, 2001).…”

“…UI is a prevalent health issue adversely affecting the quality of life, well-being and psychosocial aspects of elderly women's lives residing in LTC (Bradway et al, 2010; urban, LTC setting in Eastern Nova Scotia, Canada, discussions of UI frequently occurred in relation to the economic burden of managing the problem. Procedures and strategies were designed to maintain costs of products used for UI, with little consideration given to comfort or appropriateness of interventions from the resident's perspective or the overall impact on QoL.…”

Analysis of data from a free-listing study of menus by different income-level populations

“…Bradway, Dahlberg, and Barg (2010) applied this saliency index to determine a small core of salient patient-derived terms to help understand female urinary incontinence. Sutrop (2001) presented a different index which he called cognitive salience index (CSI).…”

Defining the Medical Intensive Care Unit in the Words of Patients and Their Family Members: A Freelisting Analysis

“…Freelisting has been used to help researchers understand what aspects of an experience resonate with the members of a specific group and to identify shared illness experiences from a group's point of view. [20][21][22][23][24][25] To the best of our knowledge, freelisting has never been used with critical care patients and their families. Understanding how these patients and their families define the ICU may reveal what experiences and elements of care are most important, thereby helping shape future research to promote more effective delivery of PFCC.…”