2025/10/02 by Pinto, Luisa Viana, Táboas, Inês, Azevedo, Sofia +3
#Incontinência Fecal #Incontinência Urinária #Profissionais de saúde #Terapêutica
paper · doi:10.25759/spmfr.511
Background: Urinary and anal incontinence are common conditions, although often underreported, due to the social stigma attached. This study aims to identify the prevalence and impact of urinary and/or anal incontinence among Portuguese health care providers (PHCP) and to realize if the stigma existing in the general population is also common among this group of professionals. Methods: AHcross-sectional study. Data was obtained from an online questionnaire aimed to characterize incontinence among PHCP working in a Public Hospital. The survey included questions regarding demographic data, incontinence characteristics and its impact on quality of life (QoL), the treatment and respective effect, and the search for medical care. Results: We includedH133HPHCP, mean age of 39 years; 46 (34.59%) reported urinary incontinence, especially stress incontinence, and 7 (5.26%) reported gas incontinence, 5 of whom had anal and urinary incontinence. Only 17 of 48 PHCP (35.42%) with incontinence symptoms had undergone medical treatment, which resulted in an average improvement of 3.11 in QoL, (4.22 pre-treatment versus 7.33 post-treatment, p<0.001), on a Visual Analogue Scale (where 0 is the worst and 10 is the best QoL). Among those experiencing symptoms but refraining from seeking medical assistance, the primary reason cited was embarrassment (67.7%). Conclusion: Despite a considerable number of incontinence cases, many PHCP do not search for medical care, even though this pathology interferes with their QoL. Nevertheless, most of those who present incontinence symptoms consider medical evaluation important. The authors suggest strategies to raise awareness of the importance of this issue among this group of professionals, including, training sessions/lectures.