Help seeking for urinary continence: A survey of those attending GP waiting rooms

The objectives of the study were to assess proportions of those attending general practitioners’ (GPs) surgeries reporting urinary incontinence (UI), proportions seeking help and factors associated with help seeking. The study took the form of a survey of those attending GP surgeries throughout practices participating in a continence care project evaluation. Surgeries were located in Perth, northern Victoria and The Hunter Region (NSW). 504 males and 1282 female participants attended a GP, not necessarily for incontinence. The main outcome measures were to assess the proportion of those with various types of incontinence (stress, urge, mixed, other), severity of incontinence, sources of professional help and factors associated with help seeking. Sixty five percent of females and 30% of males reported some type of incontinence. Eleven per cent of females reported moderate incontinence and 8% reported severe incontinence. Likewise, for males, 15% reported moderate incontinence and 3% reported severe incontinence. Despite the high proportion of those indicating incontinence, only 31% of participants with UI reported having sought help from a health professional. By far the most common source of help sought was a GP. Increased age, greater severity of UI and mixed or urge, rather than stress incontinence, were associated with a greater likelihood of having sought help. In this study, the proportion of those with UI attending GP surgeries appears much greater than that in the general population. While GPs may not necessarily be the best professionals to manage or treat incontinence, they should be encouraged to actively enquire about UI among their patients, particularly female and more elderly patients.