An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations

This case series aimed to investigate the impacts and acceptability of, as well as barriers to, physiotherapy assessment and treatment of six women with self-reported stress urinary incontinence, living in rural areas using telehealth technology. Women with selfreported urinary incontinence living i...

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Main Authors: Fary, Robyn, Conlan, Lee, Thompson, Judith
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=274368946002592
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76208
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author Fary, Robyn
Conlan, Lee
Thompson, Judith
author_facet Fary, Robyn
Conlan, Lee
Thompson, Judith
author_sort Fary, Robyn
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This case series aimed to investigate the impacts and acceptability of, as well as barriers to, physiotherapy assessment and treatment of six women with self-reported stress urinary incontinence, living in rural areas using telehealth technology. Women with selfreported urinary incontinence living in rural locations were recruited to receive an initial continence physiotherapy assessment and treatment session via telehealth. Severity of stress urinary incontinence, condition-specific quality of life and urinary leakage frequency were measured. Satisfaction with the telehealth assessment process and barriers to accessing skilled continence physiotherapists were also assessed. Six participants, aged 24-56 years, were determined to have moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence (range 6-17) at baseline, measured with the Modular Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form. Six weeks following the intervention, all participants showed an improvement in urinary symptom scores, and four participants showed an improvement in quality of life and urinary leakage. Following intervention, all participants rated their condition as improved. There was high satisfaction with the telehealth method of delivery. The main barriers to access to a continence-trained physiotherapist were inconvenience and site-related factors. Initial assessment and management provided by a continence-trained physiotherapist via telehealth may be an effective solution to lack of access for women with stress urinary incontinence living in rural Australia.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-762082019-08-29T08:06:14Z An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations Fary, Robyn Conlan, Lee Thompson, Judith This case series aimed to investigate the impacts and acceptability of, as well as barriers to, physiotherapy assessment and treatment of six women with self-reported stress urinary incontinence, living in rural areas using telehealth technology. Women with selfreported urinary incontinence living in rural locations were recruited to receive an initial continence physiotherapy assessment and treatment session via telehealth. Severity of stress urinary incontinence, condition-specific quality of life and urinary leakage frequency were measured. Satisfaction with the telehealth assessment process and barriers to accessing skilled continence physiotherapists were also assessed. Six participants, aged 24-56 years, were determined to have moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence (range 6-17) at baseline, measured with the Modular Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form. Six weeks following the intervention, all participants showed an improvement in urinary symptom scores, and four participants showed an improvement in quality of life and urinary leakage. Following intervention, all participants rated their condition as improved. There was high satisfaction with the telehealth method of delivery. The main barriers to access to a continence-trained physiotherapist were inconvenience and site-related factors. Initial assessment and management provided by a continence-trained physiotherapist via telehealth may be an effective solution to lack of access for women with stress urinary incontinence living in rural Australia. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76208 https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=274368946002592 restricted
spellingShingle Fary, Robyn
Conlan, Lee
Thompson, Judith
An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title_full An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title_fullStr An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title_full_unstemmed An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title_short An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
title_sort exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations
url https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=274368946002592
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76208