A scoping review exploring stigma associated with postpartum urinary incontinence

• Autor(a) principal: Cox, Jordyn M.
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Sánchez-Polán, Miguel, Mota, Patrícia, Barakat, Ruben, Nagpal, Taniya S.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/15905
• topic: Postpartum; Stigma; Urinary incontinence; Scoping review

Introduction and hypothesis: Postpartum urinary incontinence (UI) is prevalent, yet health-seeking behaviours for prevention and treatment are markedly low. Health-related stigma refers to conditions that may be socially devalued and considered deviating from "expected norms" and is a barrier to equitable health care. It may be plausible that stigma is associated with postpartum UI and leads to avoiding health-seeking behaviours, which this scoping review sought to examine and summarize. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews were followed. The following keywords were used to develop a search strategy: Postpartum, Urinary Incontinence, and Stigma. The search was carried out on PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertation, and Theses Global. All study designs (clinical trials, observational studies, qualitative studies) were eligible for inclusion. Data were extracted and mapped to identify causal factors of postpartum UI stigma and implications for outcomes and behaviours. Results: Twelve studies were included. Most studies utilized questionnaires assessing constructs related to the quality of life that also captured potential stigma or interviews. Sources of postpartum UI stigma included community values surrounding UI and self-stigma, whereby participants directed stereotypes associated with urinary leakage toward themselves. Implications of postpartum UI stigma included negative mental emotions such as shame and embarrassment, which led to avoiding situations where they needed to disclose symptoms, including in healthcare environments. Conclusions: Future research requires a purposeful assessment of postpartum UI stigma to learn from lived experience how to mitigate stigma and improve the quality of care.