Conocimientos sobre incontinencia urinaria en pacientes hospitalizados

SUMMARY Objective: To find out knowledge about urinary incontinence (IU) in hospitalized patients. Material and Methods: A cross sectional, descriptive study; a saturation sample of 325 hospitalized patients 30 years old or more at Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia (HNCH), Lima – Peru, was used. A knowledge questionnaire about incontinence was used, considering appropriate knowledge when more than 50% of correct answers were given. Results: Only 35.7% had an appropriate knowledge about IU. Up to 90% were aware of treatment effectiveness and of cure possibility of the incontinence patients. Nevertheless, 75% erroneously believed that UI was due to aging, while less than 50% of the patients knew the role of certain medicines and physical therapy in IU. Conclusions: There is a poor knowledge about IU, and it is necessary an intervention of health professionals in the education of people, specially in persons hospitalized with predisposing factors for developing IU, in order to be able to modify wrong ideas about the subject. (Rev Med Hered 2003; 14: 186-194).