Elderly Urinary Incontinence Caregiver Burden

Urinary Incontinence in Elderly Patients and Its Impact on Caregiver Burden: An Overlooked and Underestimated Topic

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the severity of urinary incontinence (UI) in elderly patients and its impact on the burden of care in their family caregivers.

The objective was to evaluate the severity of urinary incontinence (UI) in elderly patients and its impact on the burden of care in their family caregivers.

The study is a descriptive, cross-sectional and relationship-seeking type of research. It was conducted prospectively with 80 elderly(≥65 years of age) patients with UI and their family caregivers who applied to the urology clinic between June and December 2021. The data was collected using the "Socio-Demographic Characteristics Data Collection Form". UI was assessed by "International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form(ICIQ-UI-SF)" and caregiver burden by means of Zarit Burden Scale(ZBI) form.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The primary caregiver family member (mother, father, spouse, sibling, child), appropriate cognitive and mental health to respond to the applied forms, constant patient care
• The patient's being 65 years and older and diagnosed with urinary incontinence.

Exclusion Criteria:

• The family member who did not volunteer to participate in the study