E-Posters-10150

10150_Barnes

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A study conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, UW-Madison School of Pharmacy, and Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin aimed to determine the effectiveness of a group behavioral modification program in improving urinary and bowel symptoms in older women. The study found that over 60% of older women suffer from bladder or bowel incontinence, which increases the risk of falls and institutionalization and costs over $30 billion per year. Behavioral therapies are effective in managing these symptoms, but most women do not seek care.<br /><br />The researchers implemented a community-based continence promotion workshop called "Mind Over Matter: Healthy Bowels, Healthy Bladder" (MOM). The workshop aimed to build skills and self-efficacy for managing incontinence and seeking care, if necessary, through the Health Action Process Approach. The workshop consisted of three two-hour sessions over one month, facilitated by trained staff who provided skills training, goal setting, symptom tracking, problem solving, and action planning.<br /><br />The study enrolled 55 community-dwelling older women with bladder and/or bowel incontinence. Validated instruments were used to measure self-efficacy, incontinence symptoms, and general health perception before the workshop, immediately after, and three months later. The results showed significant improvements in symptoms for the majority of participants, which were sustained three months following the workshop. The improvements exceeded the minimum clinically important difference for both self-efficacy and incontinence symptoms.<br /><br />The study concluded that the group behavioral intervention was effective in improving urinary and bowel symptoms in older women. The next step is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to further validate these findings. The study was funded by the Wisconsin Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research Career Development Scholar Program.

Keywords

University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

UW-Madison School of Pharmacy

Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

group behavioral modification program

urinary and bowel symptoms

older women

bladder or bowel incontinence

falls and institutionalization

behavioral therapies

community-based continence promotion workshop