Urinary incontinence is a common symptom encountered in the elderly. T
o measure the handicaps associated with urinary incontinence due to de
trusor instability an instrument consisting of 17 questions (Urinary I
ncontinence Handicap Inventory (UIHI)) was developed and validated in
thirty elderly women. The results show that the instrument has a high
Cronbach alpha coefficient (0.87) and high test-to-retest reliability
(0.99, P < 0.0001). The total score on the UIHI correlates significant
ly with the results on the visual analogue scales representing percept
ion of distress felt by the individual (r = 0.91, P < 0.0001) and the
severity of the symptom (r = 0.78, P < 0.0001).