Bladder Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs among US Adolescent Women

Abstract

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) can have a pronounced impact on adolescent women's overall health and quality of life, both during adolescence and across the life course. Little research has examined adolescent women's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about bladder health and preventing LUTS. This study combines data from two large multi-site focus group studies of individuals born female who identified as women conducted by the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium. The first study included data from 8 focus groups conducted in 2018 with 44 adolescents aged 11 through 17 years. The second consisted of data from 20 focus groups conducted in 2020 with 123 adolescents aged 13 through 17 years. We used directed content analysis, including deductive and inductive approaches, to explore textual data and identify emergent insights. We present themes that emerged from analyzing coded data related to knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Themes included: (1) lack of information about bladder function, leading to limited knowledge, (2) hydration as a healthy behavior, (3) distinguishing healthy versus unhealthy voiding, (4) social and environmental barriers to voiding, and (5) shame and stigma of bladder related behaviors. Our data suggests that adolescent women are aware of healthy and unhealthy behaviors related to bladder health, despite little exposure to formal education about the bladder. Social and environmental factors, including stigma, appear to be primary drivers of adolescents' behaviors around bladder health, suggesting that multi-level socio-ecological prevention interventions are needed to prevent LUTS in this population.