CHICAGO, IL USA (UroToday.com) - Long-term indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) are associated with decreased quality of life (QoL). These researchers tested the ICIQ-LTC QoL questionnaire that was developed through a literature review, consultation with clinicians, and in-depth interviews with long-term catheter users.
The 44-item developmental ICIQ-LTC QoL was completed by 370 long-term catheter users, 117 females, 165 males, mean age 70 to 77 years. These users provided data for the evaluation of the psychometric properties of this questionnaire. The internal consistency of the 44-item ICIQ-LTC QoL indicated redundancy of some items. This was expected given the exhaustive number of items contained in the developmental version of the questionnaire; thus the aim was to reduce the number of the questions. The poster reviewed the process of questionnaire refinement and the development of a scoring system for the refined ICIQ-LTC QoL. It was tested in a new population of 215 catheter users, 75 females, 129 males, median age 80 years (range 20 to 101). A question regarding bladder spasm was added.
The poster listed areas in the ICIQ-LTC QoL questionnaire:
- Catheter function and concerns score
- confidence in catheter equipment
- catheter leakage
- catheter blockage
- how problematic the catheter is
- frequency of urinary infections
- worry about smell
- embarrassed about catheter
- adapted to life with catheter
- overall effect on everyday life
- Lifestyle impact score
- effect on ability to travel
- effect on social activities
- effect on ability to go out of the house
- Stand-alone unscored items
- pad use in addition to the catheter
- pain
- bladder spasm
- effect on sexual activity
The authors’ conclusion is that the ICIQ-LTC QOL is a psychometrically robust, self-report questionnaire for the evaluation of QoL for long-term catheter users. Whether this questionnaire will be used in clinical practice and research remains to be determined, but it appears to provide a comprehensive summary for baseline assessment and ongoing monitoring of this patient population.
Presented by N. Cotterill, S. Fowler, M. Avery, A. Cottenden, M. Wilde, A. Long, and M. Fader at the Simon Foundation for Continence's Innovating for Continence Conference Series - April 12 - 13, 2013 - Chicago, Illinois USA
Reported for UroToday.com by Diane K. Newman, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN
About the Conference Series
The Innovating for Continence Conference Series is a unique, international, biennial conference for engineers, physicians, nurses, people with incontinence and their caregivers, academics, industry executives, and those with a passion for increased development of creative and efficacious products for the management of incontinence.
The multi-disciplinary meetings attract speakers from a wide range of disciplines and is organized and hosted by The Simon Foundation for Continence (Chicago, IL USA). It is made possible through generous support from individual and industry sponsors.
Professor Alan Cottenden is the ongoing chair for the conference series. He is Professor of Incontinence Technology at University College London, England. Professor Cottenden is the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the biennial conference "Incontinence: The Engineering Challenge" hosted by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers along with the committee on Management Using Continence Products of the International Consultation on Incontinence (ICI). He has been involved in continence technology for almost 30 years, working on clinical and basic science aspects as well as product development and international standards work (ISO).
