title: Knowledge of pelvic floor disorders in a population of community-dwelling women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to investigate baseline knowledge and demographic factors associated with a lack of knowledge about urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a community-based, cross-sectional survey of 431 racially and socioeconomically diverse women aged 19-98 years. The Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire was used to assess participants' knowledge. Primary endpoints were the total number of correct responses on the UI and POP scales, respectively. Percentages of individuals answering each item or group of items correctly were explored as secondary outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All women lacked knowledge proficiency about UI and POP, although knowledge about UI was slightly greater than knowledge about POP. Overall, 71.2% of subjects lacked UI proficiency (<80% correct), whereas 48.1% lacked proficiency in POP knowledge (<50% correct). Black women demonstrated significantly less knowledge about UI and POP than white women, both before and after adjustment for age, education, and household income. When combined into 1 group, Asian, Hispanic, and other women also showed significantly less UI and POP knowledge than white women. Most women who reported symptoms of UI had not received treatment for their problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a global lack of knowledge about UI and POP among community-dwelling women, with more pronounced knowledge gaps among nonwhite women. UI and POP are chronic medical conditions that should be included in routine screening questions for well-woman care. Further studies are needed to explore how best to educate and improve women's awareness of these prevalent pelvic floor disorders.
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Charisse Laura
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mandimika
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Murk
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mühlhäuser McPencow
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Aeumuro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lake
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wedderburn
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Charlene Hooper
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Collier
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Kathleen Anne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.affiliation: Section of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Marsha Kathleen
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Guess
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse; D014549:Urinary Incontinence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: knowledge; pelvic floor disorders; pelvic organ prolapse; urinary incontinence