Pelvic floor disorder assessment of knowledge and symptoms: an educational intervention for Spanish-speaking women (PAKS study).

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Educational interventions have been effective in improving postpartum knowledge, performance of pelvic floor exercises, and bowel-specific quality-of-life. Our primary objective was to determine if a video-based educational intervention on pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) would increase Spanish-speaking women's knowledge of PFDs, and secondarily to assess if it would decrease pelvic floor symptoms. We hypothesized that Spanish-speaking women would improve their pelvic floor knowledge and symptoms post-intervention. METHODS: Inclusion criteria included women age 18 years and older and self-reported as a predominantly Spanish-speaker or equally bilingual English- and Spanish-speaker. Changes in knowledge were assessed with the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). Changes in symptoms were assessed with the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20). Linear regression assessed for independent effects. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen women were enrolled and 112 completed the pre- and post-intervention PIKQ. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 50 (14) years. Immediate post-intervention scores showed significant improvement in knowledge. Total PIKQ score improved by 5.1 (4.7) points (p < 0.001). POP subscore improved by 2.7 (2.7) points (p<0.001) and UI subscore improved by 2.3 (2.5) points (p < 0.001). Improvement in knowledge continued after four weeks (p < 0.001). PFDI-20 prolapse (p=0.02), colorectal-anal (p < 0.001) and urinary (p = 0.01) scores significantly improved only for the most symptomatic women at baseline. Using linear regression, total PIKQ (p = 0.03) and total PFDI-20 scores (p = 0.04) were associated with predominantly Spanish-speakers versus fully bilingual. CONCLUSION: Findings support the efficacy of a video-based educational intervention to improve knowledge of PFDs in Spanish-speaking women. The most symptomatic women benefitted from this intervention.

Material Hardships and Health Care Utilization Among Low-Income Children with Special Health Care Needs.

OBJECTIVE: Material hardships, defined as difficulty meeting basic needs, are associated with adverse child health outcomes, including suboptimal health care utilization. Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) may be more vulnerable to the effects of hardships. Our objective was to determine associations between material hardships and health care utilization among CSHCN. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study surveying caregivers of 2- to 12-year-old CSHCN in a low-income, urban area. Independent variables were parent-reported material hardships: difficulty paying bills, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and health care hardship. Dependent variables were parent-reported number of emergency department (ED) visits, any hospital admission, and any unmet health care need. We used negative binomial and logistic regression to assess for associations between each hardship and each outcome. RESULTS: We surveyed 205 caregivers between July 2017 and May 2018 and analyzed the data in 2018. After adjustment, difficulty paying bills (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-2.12) and health care hardship (IRR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.08-2.75) were associated with higher rates of ED visits. There were no associations between hardships and hospital admission. Difficulty paying bills (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.13; 95% CI, 1.14-3.98), food insecurity (AOR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.02-3.71), and housing insecurity (AOR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.36-5.40) were associated with higher odds of unmet health care need. CONCLUSIONS: Material hardships were associated with higher rates of ED visits and greater unmet health care need among low-income CSHCN. Future examination of the mechanisms of these associations is needed to enhance support for families of CSHCN.