Prevalência e impacto da incontinência urinária na qualidade de vida de idosas institucionalizadas

urinary incontinence(ui) is defined as anyinvoluntary loss ofurine.it affectswomenof all agesandhas high incidencein elderly women,significantly affectingthe qualityof life.thisstudy aimed to determinethe prevalence ofui ininstitutionalized elderly womenandverifytheir influence on the qualityof life.thesample consisted of40institutionalized elderlywomen in the municipalities ofpetrolinaand juazeirowho wereaged60 or more years. initially,sociodemographic andgynecological information, and about the presenceof ui was collected.then theelderlywomen who reportedloss of urineanswered thespecific king's healthquestionnaire (khq). data analysiswas performed usingdescriptive statistics.the presenceof urinary incontinencewas reported by47.50% of the elderly women. the domainof the khqthatsuffered the greatestinterfering withthe quality of lifewas theperceptionof health (51.31%); in the other domainsthe impact ofuiwas considered low, however in the scale ofsymptomspatients reportedthatuiaffects moreor lessor verymuch their lives. itispossible to conclude thatthe prevalence ofui ininstitutionalized elderly womenis high,and to observe thatoften these womenlive withsuch symptomsas intrinsicto aging,not realizinghow much their quality of life is affected.