Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access

Abstract

Female Urinary Incontinence: A Study Protocol Using the Malay QUID in Selangor, Malaysia

Dhillon HK, MZain AZ, Singh HJ, Kaur G, Nordin RB and Quek KF

Background: Female urinary incontinence (UI) is a common complaint that is perhaps under reported in Malaysian women. Despite several studies conducted in various healthcare settings to document the prevalence, risk factors and quality of life, there continues to be a wide disparity in the results. Objective: This study has been designed to document the prevalence, types of UI and some of the risk factors of female UI in Selangor, including the impact of UI on the sufferer’s and family member’s quality of life. Methods/design: The study employs a mixed method approach. It is a cross-sectional, household study conducted in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, followed by a phenomenology study on a small sample of women. The research instrument used was the Monash Malaysia Women Health Questionnaire (MMWHQ), which consisted of four internationally validated questionnaires; 6-items Questionnaire for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID), 17-items Menopause Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL), 20-item Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) and 22-items Psychological General Wellbeing Index (PGWBI). Written permission to use and translate these validated, international questionnaires was obtained from the respective researchers. Additional questions on health assessment, reproductive health, behavioural lifestyle and socio-economic status were also included in the MMWHQ to provide a holistic health perspective of Malaysian women undertaking this study. Descriptive statistics were applied to document the prevalence and types of UI using the QUID criteria while binary and multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the predictive factors for UI and type of UI, respectively. Discussion: This survey is anticipated to determine the estimated prevalence, risk factors and quality of life of community dwellers rather than women visiting healthcare settings. This is the first community based survey on UI ever to be conducted in Selangor, Malaysia