Assessment of health literacy and quality of life in women with urinary incontinence

Purpose In studies conducted with different groups, the effects of health literacy on quality of life are evident; however, there is no study examining the effect of health literacy on quality of life in women with urinary incontinence. The research was carried out to determine the health literacy level of women with urinary incontinence complaints, evaluate their quality of life, and examine the relationship between the two.Methods The research was carried out as a descriptive study and conducted with 142 women with urinary incontinence complaints in an education and research hospital in Turkey between October 14 and December 30, 2020. The data were collected using the Introductory Information Form, Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32, Incontinence Quality of Life Scale.Results The THLS-32 total mean score was 28.29 +/- 8.68, the IQOL total mean score was 64.35 +/- 15.33. It was determined that 41.5% of the women had insufficient, 35.9% had problematic-limited, 12% had adequate and 10.6% had excellent health literacy. A positive, medium-sized statistically significant correlation was found between the TSOY-32 score and the IQOL score (r = 0.436, p < 0.001).Conclusions Urinary incontinence has significant effects on the quality of life. It is thought that the evaluation of health literacy may be beneficial in nursing approaches to improve the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence.