The Correlation Between Comfort Level and Quality of Life in Female Patients With Urinary Incontinence: Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a model to determine the correlation between comfort level and quality of life in women with UI.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive correlational research design with causal modeling.

Subjects and setting: The study was conducted in the urology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The sample comprised 233 women admitted to the outpatient clinic between December 2017 and May 2018. Participants had a mean age of 52.5 (SD = 13.9) years.

Methods: Data were collected using a researcher-designed Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QOL) form, the Urinary Incontinence and Frequency Comfort Questionnaire (UIFCQ), and the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Multivariate correlations were analyzed using structural equation modeling; an AMOS covariance-based structural equation model was developed.

Results: The correlational pathway between I-QOL, UIFCQ, and SF-36 was statistically significant. As a result of the confirmed model, I-QOL scores were moderately correlated with SF-36 scores (r = .65, P = .001) and highly correlated with UIFCQ scores (r = .76, P = .001). Mean UIFCQ scores were moderately correlated with SF-36 scores (r = .66, P = .001). The structural equation modeling resulted in a model with a good fit.

Conclusions: The higher the comfort level, the higher the UI-specific and health-related quality of life. Risk factors related to UI should be monitored, and necessary training and counseling should be provided to eliminate this common problem.