Représentations sociales de l'incontinence urinaire : une enquête auprès de la population française.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary incontinence is a major public health problem. Although, as a condition, it is well documented in the literature, there is little information on its social representations. The study of its representations could make it possible to improve the way it is handled and the treatment suffers receive. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: The aim of this study was to understand the representations of the general French population on the subject of urinary incontinence. METHODS: This involved carrying out a declarative quantitative study using questionnaires. To do this, 1803 people were surveyed all over France. First, a descriptive statistical analysis was carried out using the participants’ socio-demographic data. Second, a logistic regression-type association was made between the dependent and independent variables. RESULTS: Urinary incontinence elicits a certain level of disgust in the general population. Still a taboo subject, it seems to be of little interest to some members of the population. The condition is also often poorly understood, especially by men, the younger generations, and the inhabitants of urban areas in western France. CONCLUSIONS: This quantitative study helped shed key light on the French population’s perceptions of urinary incontinence and the methods of prevention available. It also helped determine the participant profiles associated with these representations. Going forward, it seems worthwhile to focus on informing and educating these populations on the subject.

Associative Network Method.

BACKGROUND: The associative network method is a technique for studying social representations of a phenomenon. Although it is little known and used, it can be widely used in nursing research, particularly to understand the representations of a population on a disease or a professional practice. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to describe the associative network method, proposed by De Rosa in 1995, through a concrete example. METHODS: The associative network is a technique that allows us to identify the content, structure, and polarity of social representations of a phenomenon. It was used with 41 participants to describe their representations of urinary incontinence. First, the data were collected following the four steps described by De Rosa. The analysis was then carried out manually and using Microsoft Excel. The different themes evoked by the 41 participants, the number of words in each theme, the rank of appearance of the themes, the indices of polarity and neutrality, and the rank of hierarchy were thus analyzed. RESULTS: We were able to describe in depth the representations of caregivers and people from the general population on urinary incontinence and, more specifically, their content and structure. The spontaneous answers of the participants allowed us to explore several dimensions of their representations. We were also able to obtain rich information, both qualitatively and quantitatively. DISCUSSION: The associative network-which is easy to understand and implement-is a method that can be adapted to various studies.

Representations of English- and French-speaking Internet users on urinary incontinence: a webometric study.

Urinary incontinence is a major public health problem that affects nearly 9% of the world's population. Numerous studies have defined it, as well as its frequency, contributing factors, means of prevention and therapeutic approaches, but there are very few publications on its social representations. However, the literature raises that a better understanding of the social representations associated with this phenomenon could improve its management. This study focuses on its representations, and more specifically those of Internet users. Its ambition is to bring out some of the representations related to this phenomenon and thus provide initial factual and useful elements for the following research program. We conducted a webometric study and drew on Moliner's social representations theory. Using textual and iconographic data posted on the search engines and social networks most used by Internet users between January 1st, 2015 and October 15th, 2020, this research examined how urinary incontinence is perceived by English- and French-speaking Internet users. For quantitative data analysis, two textometric analysis software packages were used: Lexico® and Iramuteq®. For qualitative data, the analysis was carried out with ATLAS Ti® 9 software. Formerly hidden, urinary incontinence seems to be nowadays less and less a taboo subject and has been arousing growing interest for several years. However, this study also highlights the many preconceived ideas, false beliefs and the obvious lack of knowledge about this phenomenon. It also shows that urinary incontinence should not be trivialized nor the difficulty for the patients concerned to live with it. This study made it possible to understand the representations that a part of the population has on the phenomenon of urinary incontinence. It was the first of a larger research program which aims at improving the care of institutionalized elderly people suffering from urinary incontinence.

Social Representations of Urinary Incontinence in Caregivers and General Population: A Focus Group Study.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a major public health problem. Although trivialized, it affects nearly 9% of the world's population and its prevalence increases with age. It affects many people living in nursing homes. In the literature, there is a lot of information on its symptoms, risk factors and therapeutic approaches, but its social representations are rarely studied. The objective of this qualitative focus-group study is to understand the social representations of urinary incontinence of caregivers of institutionalized elderly people, but also of the general population. Seven focus groups were organized with 41 participants. The data collected were analyzed both manually and using Atlas.Ti software. For caregivers and the general population, urinary incontinence remains a misunderstood and disturbing subject: judged as too intimate, embarrassing, and shameful, it is even considered uninteresting by those who are not affected, with some going so far as to make fun of those affected. It is also represented as a real difficulty for relationships: it can be a source of conflict, but also of questioning by the role of caregiver. However, it is also represented as a means of increasing the empowerment of the residents concerned, thanks to the choice of their means of protection. This study has enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of the social representations of caregivers and the general population on urinary incontinence in the elderly, but also to highlight the various preventive and educational actions that could be taken to improve the management of this health problem. It is part of a larger research program that aims at understanding the representations of urinary incontinence of caregivers, the general population, but also of course, of residents in nursing homes and their carers.

Perceptions, representations and logics of action of urinary incontinence in institutionalised elderly people: a concurrent mixed study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a major public health problem. It affects many institutionalised elderly people. In the literature, the phenomenon is well defined. Its frequency, risk factors, individual and social costs, as well as the different therapeutic approaches, are described. However, there are few publications on its representations, both from the point of view of the patient and that of the carers. However, the literature shows that a better understanding of the social representations of this phenomenon could be a vector for improving care. We aim at understanding the perception of UI, to model its representations and to understand and characterise the logics of action in terms of protection. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This will be a mixed-method concurrent study with a quantitative and a qualitative component. Data will be collected through 100 semistructured interviews, 8 focus groups and 10 000 surveys from 4 populations: institutionalised elderly people, caregivers, carers and individuals from the general population. The qualitative part will be analysed both manually and with ATLAS.Ti software, which will be used to centralise and organise all qualitative data collected. For the analysis of the quantitative part, a descriptive statistical analysis and a logistic regression type association will be carried out. These analyses will be enforced using R software. Then, an overlay and combination of quantitative and qualitative information for the triangulation analytical approach will be carried out. The study started in August 2021 and will continue until June 2022. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the Descartes ethics and research committee on 1 June 2021, with the IRB number 00012021-43. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This protocol was registered with the Research Registry on 12 July 2021 and is numbered researchregistry6965.