Womèn`s experiences of living with urinary incontinence - a qualitative litterature review

Background: Urinary incontinence is a condition that affects many women, and means a big expense to society. If not more preventive action is taken, the costs are expected to increase even more. The condition affects women's quality of life through more and better prevention, society can contribute to a better quality of life for the affected women. The aim of the literature review is to describe women's experiences of living with urinary incontinence. The method is a literature review, and includes articles with qualitative approach. Articles were searched in the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. The result comprises eleven articles analyzed according to Fribergs fivestep model. It was compiled into a main theme to live with a hidden disability and four subthemes emerged. These were influence in the daily life, communication difficulties with the environment, interactions with health care, and acceptance of life situation. Urinary incontinence restricts women's daily lives, they are afraid to seek medical care because of shame and embarrassment. In many cases this was accepted and they learn to live with it. Women are silent regarding the urinary incontinence when they do not feel understood by their surroundings. Conclusion: Urinary incontinence is a common inconvenience that adversely affects women's quality of life. The women themselves do not always speak openly, and when they do, they often find that they do not get the help they need. More research is needed and nurses are more likely to address the problem