PROMOTING CONTINENCE AS A HEALTH ISSUE

Urinary incontinence is a common condition affecting hundreds of milli ons of people worldwide but for which up to 70% of sufferers seek no h elp. Continence promotion activities must target not only the incontin ence sufferers and their families but also the general community, heal th professionals, the industry that manufactures continence products a nd drugs, and the Government which is responsible for funding directly or indirectly various programmes. Continence promotion programmes mus t therefore be sufficiently flexible to target these groups about what incontinence is, what can be done about it, and where to get help, an d most importantly to de-stigmatise this condition. Continence promoti on is taking place internationally through the efforts of the Internat ional Continence Society and locally through various national nonprofi t-making organisations. Activities include public awareness and profes sional education programmes; continence prevention strategies; and est ablishing mechanisms for improved communication. 'CONTInet', a dedicat ed Internet facility, is evolving as a major tool to achieve many of t hese goals.