Incontinence in a manufacturing setting: Women's perceptions and responses

The true prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and its impact on the qual ity of life in working women are not well established. Many women do not re port UI to a health care provider because they mistakenly believe UI is a n atural part of aging. This situation exists despite the dissemination of a national guideline for UI in adults. The aims of this study were to (1) exp lore what incontinent women in a manufacturing setting name or identify as the proposed cause of urinary leak-age (2) analyze an association between i dentifying a UI cause and reporting it to a health care provider and (3) de termine how many women were aware of the AHCPR Guideline. The results indic ate that the majority of incontinent women (62%) have not reported this to a health care provider. Most women attributed urinary leakage to parity and waiting too long to empty the bladder. There was no relationship between i dentifying a UI cause and reporting it to a health care provider. Only 2 of the women out of 78 had heard of the AHCPR Guideline but the majority of w omen wanted more information about UI (85%). Mechanisms are suggested for q uerying women with UI and disseminating the AHCPR Guideline.