Structural analysis of women’s social representations of urinary incontinence

Abstract

Objective: To assess the structure of social representations of urinary incontinence among Brazilian women. Method: A cross-sectional study, which used semi-structured questionnaires applied online between September 2021 and June 2022. A total of 796 Brazilian women participated. Lexical and similarity analyses were performed using the EVOC 2000® and IRAMUTEQ® software. Evoked words were organized based on frequency and evocation hierarchy. Results: The analyses indicated that the words “urine”, “embarrassment”, “pee”, “discomfort”, “pain”, “discomfort”, “urine leakage”, “infection”, “bladder”, “burning”, “leakage”, “fear”, “wet”, “problem” and “disease” were at the core of social representations about urinary incontinence. These terms were frequently mentioned and appeared primarily in the responses. In addition to the physical impact, urinary incontinence was associated with social isolation, anxiety and negative effects on sexual health. Conclusion: Urinary incontinence affects several aspects of women’s lives, imposing negative representations in both physical and emotional dimensions. This study highlighted the urgency of destigmatizing the condition and promoting more comprehensive care approaches that consider the complexities of these social representations.