Educação em saúde para mulheres com incontinência urinária

Abstract

Introduction: Educational interventions are vital for promoting self-care and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits. Paulo Freire highlights that dialogue and listening are essential for the knowledge-building process while respecting the student. Self-care is fundamental for the implementation of rehabilitation nursing practices, as well as for improving the condition of patients with incontinence. Urinary incontinence, understood as the involuntary leakage of expected urine, is a problem present in the general public. Nurses are supported in dealing with pelvic floor dysfunctions since education is part of the health promotion process aimed at improving the population's health, making it essential to combat this condition. Objective: To describe an experience report on urinary incontinence care based on Paulo Freire's references. Method: Experience-report study with a qualitative approach. Five women with urinary incontinence participated from a municipality in the Amazon region in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The study was approved by the ethics committee and was carried out between September and December 2023. Data were collected during nursing appointments through individual semistructured interviews recorded in audio. The recordings and notes were analyzed through content analysis and in light of Paulo Freire's theoretical framework. Results: The average age of the participants was 67.6 years (SD±11.8). Three thematic categories emerged: Knowledge level about the issue, Treatment seeking, and Improvements achieved aftercare. The patients demonstrated a lack of prior knowledge on the subject. It was found that it was difficult to seek care and that all participants were ingesting bladder irritants, such as coffee, and were also obese. The analysis of the statements in the second appointment verified that the consultation services contributed to improving the patients' condition, with reports of significant improvement in urinary loss, lifestyle and eating habits changes, and practice of pelvic strengthening training. One statement line stands out: "I did not know it was so simple to stay dry." Final considerations: It was found that the consultation services were significant for the patients, as they acknowledged and cared for a health problem that had been neglected until then by other professionals. Furthermore, it was noted that the care and educational activities contributed to improving the patients' condition. The potentialities include the dissemination of knowledge about this health problem, as well as the identified results themselves, with powerful and significant statements about a common health problem that significantly impacts the lives of those affected and which deserves more visibility and attention by healthcare professionals, given the possibility of acting in the conservative management of this problem.