Abstract:

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Incontinence Severity Index (ISI) in Turkish population that is used in epidemiological and in clinical surveys to identify women with different severity of urinary leakage. MATERIAL and METHODS: The study was conducted in forty women with rheumatoid arthritis who has urinary incontinence. The data was collected using ISI developed, examining the reliability and validity, by Sandvik in 1993. The data was analyzed using the KendalWconcordance test, Cronbach alpha coefficient and Pearson product-moment correlation test. RESULTS: Experts' opinions were consulted regarding the scope validity of the 2-item ISI. KendalWtest was 0.706 (P<0.001) for compatible analysis, the test-retest reliability of the scale was found r1=0.963 (p<0.001) and r2=0.932 (p<0.001), with the Cronbach internal consistency coefficient. CONCLUSION: The validity and reliability of the ISI used to determine the incontinence severity in women was found to be satisfactorily high in Turkey. Consequently, it is recommended that ISI could be used to determine the incontinence severity in women with rheumatoid arthritis, incompatible patients with invasive and complex treatments and patients not suitable for using the methods of urinary incontinence for long time and all the patients has urinary leakage at different levels of severity.

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