Abstract
Purpose of Review
The goal of this manuscript is to review the current literature on bladder health education, summarize Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) findings on environmental factors that influence knowledge and beliefs about toileting and bladder function, and describe how PLUS work will contribute to improved understanding of women’s bladder-related knowledge and inform prevention intervention strategies.
Recent Findings
Analysis of focus group transcripts revealed the various ways women view, experience, and describe bladder function. In the absence of formal bladder health educational platforms, women appear to develop knowledge of normal and abnormal bladder function from a variety of social processes including environmental cues and interpersonal sources. Importantly, focus group participants expressed frustration with the absence of structured bladder education to inform knowledge and practices.
Summary
There is a lack of bladder health educational programming in the USA, and it is unknown to what degree women’s knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs influence their risk of developing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The PLUS Consortium RISE FOR HEALTH study will estimate the prevalence of bladder health in adult women and assess risk and protective factors. A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs (KAB) questionnaire will be administered to determine KAB around bladder function, toileting, and bladder-related behaviors, and examine the relationship of KAB to bladder health and LUTS. The data generated from PLUS studies will identify opportunities for educational strategies to improve bladder health promotion and well-being across the life course.
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Acknowledgements
Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium
Research Centers and Investigators
Loyola University Chicago—Maywood, IL (U01DK106898)
Multi-Principal Investigators: Linda Brubaker, MD; Elizabeth R. Mueller, MD, MSME
Investigators: Marian Acevedo-Alvarez, MD; Colleen M. Fitzgerald, MD, MS; Cecilia T. Hardacker, MSN, RN, CNL; Jeni Hebert-Beirne, PhD, MPH; Missy Lavender, MBA; David A. Shoham, PhD, MSPH.
Northwestern University—Chicago IL (U01DK126045)
Multi-Principal Investigators: Kimberly Sue Kenton, MD; James W. Griffith, PhD; Melissa Simon, MD, MPH
Investigator: Patricia I Moreno, PhD.
University of Alabama at Birmingham—Birmingham, AL (U01DK106858)
Principal Investigator: Alayne D. Markland, DO, MSc
Investigators: Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM; Kathryn L. Burgio, PhD; Cora E. Lewis, MD, MSPH; Gerald McGwin, Jr., MS, PhD; Camille P. Vaughan, MD, MS; Beverly Rosa Williams, PhD.
University of California San Diego—La Jolla, CA (U01DK106827)
Principal Investigator: Emily S. Lukacz, MD
Investigators: Sheila Gahagan, MD, MPH; D. Yvette LaCoursiere, MD, MPH; Jesse Nodora, DrPH.
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, MI (U01DK106893)
Principal Investigator: Janis M. Miller, PhD, APRN, FAAN
Investigators: Lawrence Chin-I An, MD; Lisa Kane Low, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN.
University of Minnesota (Scientific and Data Coordinating Center)—Minneapolis MN (U24DK106786)
Multi-Principal Investigators: Bernard L. Harlow, PhD; Kyle D. Rudser, PhD
Investigators: Sonya S. Brady, PhD; Haitao Chu, MD, PhD; Melissa L. Constantine, PhD, MPAff; Cynthia S. Fok, MD, MPH; Peter Scal, PhD; Todd Rockwood, PhD.
University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA (U01DK106892)
Principal Investigator: Multi-Principal Investigators: Diane K. Newman, DNP FAAN; Ariana L. Smith, MD
Investigators: Amanda Berry, MSN, CRNP; C. Neill Epperson, MD; Heather Klusaritz, PhD, MSW; Kathryn H. Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM, FTOS; Ann E. Stapleton, MD; Jean F. Wyman, PhD.
Washington University in St. Louis—Saint Louis, MO (U01DK106853)
Principal Investigator: Siobhan Sutcliffe, PhD, ScM, MHS
Investigators: Aimee S. James, PhD, MPH; Jerry L. Lowder, MD, MSc; Melanie R. Meister, MD, MSCI.
Yale University—New Haven, CT (U01DK106908)
Principal Investigator: Leslie M. Rickey, MD, MPH
Investigators: Marie A. Brault, PhD (Dec. 2020-); Deepa R. Camenga, MD, MHS; Shayna D. Cunningham, PhD.
Steering Committee Chair: Linda Brubaker, MD. UCSD, San Diego. (January 2021-)
NIH Program Office: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, Bethesda, MD.
NIH Project Scientist: Julia Barthold, MD; Past project scientist: Tamara Bavendam MD, MS (July 2017–Jan 2020)
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by cooperative agreements (grants U24DK106786, U01 DK106853, U01 DK106858, U01 DK106898, U01 DK106893, U01 DK106827, U01 DK106908, U01 DK106892, U01 DK126045). Additional funding from National Institute on Aging, NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health.
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S.S. Brady reports grants from 1 U24DK106786, during the conduct of the study.
B.R Williams reports grants from NIH-NIDDK, during the conduct of the study.
J.F. Wyman reports grants from National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders/National Institutes of Health, during the conduct of the study.
A.S. James reports grants from NIH, during the conduct of the study; grants from NCI, outside the submitted work.
M.A. Brault reports grant K01TW011480 from the Fogarty International Center at NIH, outside the submitted work.
L.M. Rickey, D.R. Camenga, A.L. Smith, D.Y. LaCoursiere, M.D. Lavender, and L.K. Low declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium declare no conflict of interest.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Patient Engagement, Education, and Literacy for Pelvic Floor Disorders.
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Rickey, L., Camenga, D., Brady, S. et al. Women’s Knowledge of Bladder Health: What We Have Learned in the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep 17, 188–195 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-022-00655-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-022-00655-6