The impact of urinary incontinence of the lives of wives of men with incontinence: an integrative review

Abstract

Male urinary incontinence has been related to several factors, among which benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer treatment are highlighted. Urinary incontinence has negative effects on patients as well as on their relatives and caregivers. In the present study, an integrative review was performed with the purpose to identify the impact that urinary incontinence has on the lives of the patients' partners. The article survey was performed on the following databases: CINAHL, EMBASE, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and PubMed. Articles were included if they were written in Portuguese, English or Spanish, and excluded if they did not mention the patients' wives. The final sample was comprised of 15 articles from seven countries. The articles were distributed into the following categories: Psychological Distress, Fatigue, Change in Sex Life, and Limitations on Social Life. The category Psychological Distress was present in all articles and was rated as having the most impact on these women's lives.