Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence and Associated Factors Among Patients Attending Gynaecology Clinic at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Accra. Ghana

Background/Aim: Urinary incontinence (UI) has been found to be a common condition in the general population, especially among the older female adults. It has enormous negative impact on quality of life especially with high financial of containment. The prevalence is often difficult to determine because UI is often underreported and undertreated. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its associated factors among female patients attending the gynecology clinic at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra. Ghana Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study of 182 women attending the Gynecology clinic at KBTH. Participants recruited by consecutively and data collected with semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire after informed consent. Data was analysed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive analysis was done, using frequency, Chi-square test for categorical variables and logistic regression for any associations at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05 and at 95% confidence interval. Results: A total 182 patients participated in this study and the prevalence of UI was 29.67 %.( 54/182). Age was the only sociodemographic factor significantly associated with urinary incontinence (p=0.013) with the highest proportion observed in patients over 50 years old (50.00%). Out of the 54 patients with UI symptoms only 44.44 % (24/54) disclosed their symptoms to healthcare providers and only 37.91% (69/182) of patients had their caregivers make any enquiry on urinary incontinence symptoms. Conclusion: The prevalence of UI among patients attending the out-patient Gynaecology clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was found to 29.67%. Age and parity of at least one was significantly associated with UI. Majority of patients never disclosed their symptoms to care givers and similarly majority of caregivers never enquired about UI symptoms from their patients. Both the general public and caregivers need awareness creation on UI among women and the impact on quality of life as well as availability of treatment.