Abstract:

Introduction: Despite the physical, psychosocial and economic impact of urinary incontinence, presentation at a healthcare institution is often delayed. This problem negatively affects the daily life of older people and decreases the quality of life. Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women aged 65 or over living at home in rural area, the risk factors, and the relation of urinary incontinence to quality of life. The study sample consisted of 268 with systematic samling method selected females in Konya/Aksehir. A questionnaire developed to evaluate the socio-demographic, fertility, urinary incontinence characteristics of the respondents named “Incontinence Quality of Life Instrument” was used to evaluate the effect of urinary incontinence on the quality of life. Kruskal-Wallis Variance, The Chisquare, Yates and Mann- Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data. Results: Urinary incontinence was observed to be more common among women at an advanced age, who were economically poor and bladder prolapse. The incontinence Quality of Life Instrument scores were negatively affected with perception of their economic status as poor, having delivered their last child at the age 40 or over, having had a twin pregnancy, having had bladder prolapse, mixed type urinary incontinence, urinary incontinence once a day, or urinary incontinence in great amounts, having to change underwear four or more times a day and urinating five or more times at night, and consulting a doctor for their urinary incontinence (p<0.05). Conclusion: Urinary incontinence is common in the elderly and has a negative effect on the quality of life.

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