Asian Women And Incontinence - Suffering In Silence

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 14 Jun 2008 - 11:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Urinary incontinence is an important health problem affecting an estimated 5 million women in the UK.

Dr Angie Doshani at the University of Leicester has carried out a study into urinary incontinence in South Asian women, which has not only highlighted the social and psychological effects that urinary incontinence has within ethnic minority communities, but has also raised the importance of culturally sensitive continence care.

Dr Doshani, who is working with the Urogynaecology Department at the Leicester General Hospital and East Leicester Medical Practice, commented: "This study highlights the unmet needs of the Asian community. Leicester has a diverse ethnic population and ascertaining the level of awareness, impact on quality of life and barriers to access to care for incontinence among these ethnic minority groups is crucial"

Many women suffer in silence whilst experiencing urinary symptoms, as they are too embarrassed to seek help. On average women took over 4 years to seek the help they needed. Of those that did many found their journey through the healthcare system to be disappointing.

It was found that Asian women reported higher rates of urinary incontinence and increased severity of symptoms than Caucasian women from a similar environment, thus, impacting on the quality of their daily life.

Dr Doshani also carried out a cross cultural study exploring the effect of migration on incontinence. As the majority of South Asian women in Leicester come from Gujarat in India, this study was performed in collaboration with the University of Baroda.

This study is the first of its kind in trying to understand the influence culture has on the migrant Asian woman in regards to urinary incontinence and demonstrates the need to understand the cultural aspects of the community in order to provide culturally competent care.

"I would like to thank all the women who participated in the study. With their help, we have gained a valuable insight into understanding the continence needs within the community as well as suggestions on appropriate ways to empower women to seek help.

"Not only do we need to increase knowledge within the community, we need healthcare professionals to take a proactive approach in dealing with urinary incontinence," Dr Doshani said.

Dr Angie Doshani is a clinical lecturer in the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester and a senior registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

During her training she developed an interest in urogynaecology. She has carried out research in the area of urodynamics (special test for diagnosing urinary incontinence) and its correlation to conservative management, as well as assessing anxiety levels in women attending for this test.

During the clinics she noted that the ethnic minority women were unrepresented in the patient population. This led to the development of this research project.

She aims to continue further research with her clinical work in the area of urogynaecology and ethnic minority women's health.

The research is being presented to the public at the University of Leicester on Thursday 26th June. The Festival of Postgraduate Research introduces employers and the public to the next generation of innovators and cutting-edge researchers, and gives postgraduate researchers the opportunity to explain the real world implications of their research to a wide ranging audience.

More information about the Festival of Postgraduate Research is available at: http://www.le.ac.uk/gradschool/festival

University Of Leicester

- A member of the 1994 Group of universities that share a commitment to research excellence, high quality teaching and an outstanding student experience.

- Ranked top for student satisfaction in England (jointly with Oxford) among mainstream universities (average score of 4.4 out of 5 for overall satisfaction)

- Ranked as a Top 20 university by The Sunday Times University Guide, The Guardian University Guide and the UK Good University Guide

- One of just 23 UK universities to feature in world's top 200- Shanghai Jiao Tong International Index, 2005-07.

- Ranked in top 200 world universities by the THES (Times Higher Education Supplement)

- Short listed University of the Year in 2007 by The Sunday Times and Short listed Higher Education Institution of the Year - THES awards 2005 and 2006

- Ranked top 10 in England for research impact by The Guardian

- Students' Union of the Year award 2005, short listed 2006 and 2007

Founded in 1921, the University of Leicester has 19,000 students from 136 countries. Teaching in 18 subject areas has been graded Excellent by the Quality Assurance Agency- including 14 successive scores - a consistent run of success matched by just one other UK University. Leicester is world renowned for the invention of DNA Fingerprinting by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys and houses Europe's biggest academic Space Research Centre. 90% of staff are actively engaged in high quality research and 13 subject areas have been awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. The University's research grant income places it among the top 20 UK research universities. The University employs over 3,000 people, has an annual turnover of £184m, covers an estate of 94 hectares and is engaged in a £300m investment programme- among the biggest of any UK university.

University Of Leicester

• Additional
• References
• Citations