Purpose: To determine clinical practice patterns of general physical therapists concerning urinary incontinence (UI) management. Methods: Self-generated questionnaire mailed to 330 board licensed physical therapists who practice in Alachua, Dade, and Pinellas counties in Florida. A pilot study was conducted on 30 physical therapists. Results: The actual study revealed seventy-four percent of the therapists initiate inquiry to less than 10% of their patients. Patient embarrassment was most likely to hinder therapist's inquiry (66%). Seventy-nine percent were pessimistic concerning the percent of patients who can improve with intervention. Only 18% felt fully/pretty well prepared to discuss UI management. Forty-five percent knew of a local specialized physical therapist, but only 23.7% refer patients greater than 75% of the time. Chi-square tests revealed Alachua county therapists had a greater knowledge of specialized therapists than Dade (p=.001) or Pinellas (p=.022). Those who practice in elderly settings versus non-elderly revealed 1) more patients volunteer information (p Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis there is an overall lack of knowledge among general physical therapists concerning UI management.
| Date of Award | Jan 1 1998 |
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| Original language | English |
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