Turkish Journal of Geriatrics
2014 , Vol 17, Issue 3
MANAGEMENT OF INCONTINENCE IN THE FEMALE GERIATRIC POPULATION: BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
İstanbul Üniversitesi Florence Nightingale Hemşirelik Fakültesi İSTANBUL
During the aging process, the female lower urinary tract begins to show changes such as muscle
atrophy due to estrogen deficiency, replacement of muscle tissue by fat tissue and a consequent
reduction in the contraction strength of pelvic floor muscles, which may lead to involuntary
urine loss. Urinary incontinence is not an event that directly threatens the lives of people,
but for 37-57% of elderly women it negatively affects their quality of life. The treatment of urinary
incontinence uses both surgical and conservative treatment methods. Conservative treatment
is commonly preferred because conservative methods, in contrast to surgery, have little risk
of mortality and are simple, easy to implement, less invasive, more reliable, and requires a lower
level of patient compliance than more invasive urinary incontinence treatments. Behavioral treatment,
which is a component of conservative treatment in the geriatric female population with
urinary incontinence, is used as the first choice of treatment. Behavioral treatment methods
include pelvic floor muscle exercises, bladder training, timing of voiding, and developing healthy
lifestyle behaviors. Behavioral treatment methods require an individual's active participation and
health care professionals' time and effort. Most elderly people experience a decrease in urinary
incontinence symptoms and an improvement in their quality of life with behavioral therapy. This
paper includes a literature review that describes behavioral treatments, the first choice of treatment
for urinary incontinence with the geriatric female population.
Keywords :
Urinary Incontinence; Aged; Female; Behavior Therapy/methods