Barriers to treatment for women aged 18 to 45 with urinary incontinence

The purposes of this study were to explore the challenges faced by women aged 18 to 45 with urinary incontinence (UI) and to determine why they do not seek treatment. A qualitative approach was used to describe life experiences of young women suffering with UI. Five participants completed individual interviews. Their transcripts were coded and sorted using qualitative software. Commonalities were found among the participants and revealed several barriers to treatment for young women with UI: self management, negative views of medication or surgery, symptoms not perceived as severe, acceptance of symptoms, difficulty disclosing symptoms to their physician, and physicians not asking about UI problems. Even when UI negatively impacted their quality of life, young women were reluctant to seek treatment. The data obtained from this study can serve as a "voice" for these women and provide physical therapists with information to expand clinical programs and better serve this population.