How do patients with urinary incontinence perceive care given by their general practitioner? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a widespread problem, affecting quality of life and leading to high costs, mainly caused by incontinence pads. It seems that, despite guidelines, many UI patients get pads from their general practitioner (GP) without adequate diagnostics or treatment. OBJECTIVES: To assess what further treatment UI patients receive from their GP next to pads and to measure patient satisfaction with care. METHODS: A postal survey among UI patients who started pad use in the past 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME: Satisfaction with UI care. Results: We analysed 208 questionnaires. 29.3% of pad users had no direct contact with their GP for a pad prescription. Of 147 UI patients who visited their GP 50.3% only got pads. 25% of patients was not satisfied with the information on UI received from their GP, especially younger patients, women, less healthy patients and patients with urgency UI. CONCLUSIONS: Dutch UI patients using pads experience suboptimal GP care and management. Factors identified through patient feedback should be used to improve quality of care for UI in primary care.