Routine screening for urinary incontinence (UI) by primary care providers (PCPs) is recommended.
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.
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.
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.
In a large primary care population, screening for and detection of UI in women was low.
Urogynecology (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2024 Mar 27 [Epub ahead of print]
Julia Geynisman-Tan, Manisha Cherupally, Shaina J Alexandria, Tiffany Brown, Sarah Collins, Ashley Mathews, Havisha Pedamallu, Kimberly S Kenton, Stephen D Persell
From the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern University., Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University., Department of Preventive Medicine (Biostatistics), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Evanston., Section of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago., Northwestern University, Evanston., Section Chief of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and Vice Chair of Research, University of Chicago, Chicago.