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. 2024 Sep 1;30(9):765-773.
doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001471. Epub 2024 Mar 26.

Urinary Incontinence in Primary Care-The Gap Between Recommendations and Real World

Julia Geynisman-Tan  1 , Manisha Cherupally  2 , Shaina J Alexandria  3 , Tiffany Brown  2 , Sarah Collins  4 , Ashley Mathews  5 , Havisha Pedamallu  5 , Kimberly S Kenton  6 , Stephen D Persell
Affiliations

Urinary Incontinence in Primary Care-The Gap Between Recommendations and Real World

Julia Geynisman-Tan et al. Urogynecology (Phila). .

Abstract

Importance: Routine screening for urinary incontinence (UI) by primary care providers (PCPs) is recommended.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the rate of incident UI diagnosed at annual PCP visits, the prevalence of UI in a large primary care population, and estimate the rate of screening for UI during primary care preventive and annual wellness visits. Secondary aims were to describe PCP knowledge and behavior as they relate to UI screening and diagnosis.

Study design: The electronic health record was used to abstract the number of adult female patients seen by PCPs within a regional health system with a diagnosis of UI before our study period and with a new diagnosis over a 2-year period. Additional new diagnoses and screening practices were found on chart review of an additional 824 representative charts. Primary care providers within the health system were surveyed about their screening practices and knowledge about UI.

Results: There were 192,053 women primary care patients seen over 2 years. A total of 5.7% had a UI diagnosis preceding the study period and 3.4% had a UI diagnosis during the study period. A total of 42% of PCPs reported that they screen for UI at least half the time and none were completely satisfied with their ability to screen for UI. Sixteen percent of annual wellness visits had any documentation of screening for UI.

Conclusion: In a large primary care population, screening for and detection of UI in women was low.

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Conflict of interest statement

S.D.P. receives unrelated research support paid to Northwestern University from Omron Healthcare Co, Ltd, and received a speaking honorarium from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and from Omron Healthcare Co, Ltd. S.C. is an expert witness for Ethicon and Johnson and Johnson and is a content expert for MCG Health. K.S.K. is an expert witness for Ethicon and Johnson and Johnson. The other authors have declared they have no conflicts of interest.

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