Preliminary Findings on Urinary Incontinence Screening Among Childbearing Women Attending Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Kuantan

Abstract

Introduction: Urinary incontinence is common among childbearing women that affect quality of life and the screening should be performed as early as possible to prevent further complication in later life. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and practice of UI screening and its associated factors among childbearing women. Methods: A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling method was carried out among 113 childbearing women attending selected Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Kuantan. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to participants from February 2020 to April 2020. A structured validated Malay version questions towards urinary incontinence screening were used consisting of 20 items on knowledge, 11 items on attitude and 12 items on practices. Results: The response rate for this study was 71% and 93.8% of participants were Malay. Majority of childbearing women, 92%, showed lack of knowledge on urinary incontinence and 91.1% of them never do the screening. Only 39.8% of childbearing women have positive attitude towards the urinary incontinence screening. One Way Anova test shows no association between education level and knowledge (p=0.074) and no association between parity and severity (p=0.843). However, Independent t-test shows a statistical difference between severity of urinary incontinence and screening practice (p=0.036). Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practice of urinary incontinence screening need to be enhanced among childbearing women. Health education and awareness campaign should be done regularly to encourage childbearing women to do the screening and discuss the consequence of urinary incontinence in future with health care providers.