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What do female university students know about pelvic floor disorders? A cross-sectional survey

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is common in women but few seek medical attention. Poor recognition of the condition as pathological and unawareness of treatments may account for low consultation rates.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was based on an online survey that was responded to in February and March 2020 by 768 female university students. Knowledge of PFD was assessed using the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using IBM-SPSS (V26.0).

Results

Respondents had poor knowledge of PFD and especially of pelvic organ prolapse. Health science students (n = 531; 69.1%) obtained significantly higher scores (p < 0.001) than other students (n = 237; 30.9%). Those who had received information on how to perform pelvic floor muscle training were more likely to score higher than those who had not received previous information.

Conclusions

While health science students have better knowledge of PFD than other students, university students in general are little aware of PFD. Most students considered the issue of PFD to be important and wanted more information. Our findings may be useful in planning strategies to raise women’s awareness of PFD and its prevention and treatment.

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Abbreviations

PFD:

Pelvic floor dysfunction

UI:

Urinary incontinence

POP:

Pelvic organ prolapse

PFMT:

Pelvic floor muscle training

PIKQ:

Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire

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Acknowledgements

Our thanks to the students who participated in the survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Mas Casanovas, 90, 08025, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Bailón Queiruga, Aina Delgado-Morell, Marta Peró Garcia & Oriol Porta Roda

  2. Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Peró Garcia & Ignasi Gich Saladich

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hospital Dexeus Mujer, Barcelona, Spain

    Sandra Coll Girona

  4. CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Gich Saladich

Authors
  1. Marta Bailón Queiruga
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  2. Aina Delgado-Morell
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  3. Marta Peró Garcia
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  4. Sandra Coll Girona
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  5. Ignasi Gich Saladich
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  6. Oriol Porta Roda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marta Bailón Queiruga.

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Appendix 1. Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ) [7]

Appendix 1. Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ) [7]

  1. a.

    Below are some statements about urinary incontinence (loss of urine or leaky bladder). Please state if you agree or disagree with each statement, or if you do not know.

figure a
  1. b.

    Below are some statements about pelvic organ prolapse (bulging of the vagina, uterus, bladder, or rectum). Please state if you agree or disagree with each statement, or if you do not know.

figure b

Source: Shah AD, Massagli MP, Kohli N, Rajan SS, Braaten KP, Hoyte L (2008) A reliable, valid instrument to assess patient knowledge about urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J 19(9):1283-1289. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-008-0631-x

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Bailón Queiruga, M., Delgado-Morell, A., Peró Garcia, M. et al. What do female university students know about pelvic floor disorders? A cross-sectional survey. Int Urogynecol J 33, 659–664 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04828-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04828-5

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