Incontinence & Intimate Partners: Assessing the Contribution of Treatment
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-06-29
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Urge urinary incontinence (UUI) is a socially debilitating disease due to its inherently
unpredictable nature and sometimes large volumes of urine loss. Women with UUI may experience
anxiety over public episodes of incontinence and concerns about odor and, as a result,
isolate themselves socially. This isolation affects both partners in the relationship and may
be a source of discord. The impact of UUI also moves into personal relationships where fears
or actual episodes of incontinence during physical intimacy, including but limited to
intercourse, may result in limited interactions and changes in the relationship satisfaction
for both partners. Few studies have examined the role of urinary incontinence, particularly
UUI, in the dynamics of an intimate partner relationship and none have evaluated the impact
of successful UUI treatment.
The long-term goal of our research is to understand the social and emotional impact of pelvic
floor disorders, particularly UUI, on the well-being of an intimate relationship. Ultimately,
we aim to evaluate the role that successful treatment plays in the alleviation of discord in
intimate partner relationships that are affected by UUI and other pelvic floor disorders.
Our objective for this proposal is to characterize, using validated, quantifiable methods the
quality of the relationship in couples affected by UUI and to identify the role that
treatment plays in improving this relationship. Our central hypothesis is that UUI has a
negative impact upon the emotional and physical well-being of a relationship and that
effective treatment will result in improvement in areas of the relationship that have been
detrimentally affected by UUI. Our rationale for this study is that an understanding of UUI
in the context of a couple, particularly from the perspective of the male partner, will
improve our ability to holistically treat UUI, thus improving patient outcomes and
satisfaction.