Men and women experience different barriers to care seeking for fecal incontinence.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite effective treatments for fecal incontinence (FI), FI remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. This study sought to characterize and compare rates of, delays in, experiences with, and barriers to care seeking for FI among men and women.

Methods

This study was a secondary analysis of electronic survey data collected from adults with FI. The survey included the use of a validated instrument to assess FI severity and questions that now comprise a validated instrument for assessing barriers to care seeking for FI in women. Descriptive analyses characterized differences between men and women. χ² testing for categorical variables and t-testing for normally distributed continuous variables compared statistical differences.

Results

The sample (N =

SUBMITTER: Moureau MK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10810259 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature