Linking of assessment scales for women with urinary incontinence and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to link the content of four most used questionnaires to assess the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire; King's Health Questionnaire; Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire and Bristol Female Urinary Tract Symptoms Questionnaire) with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Methods: Linking the questionnaires content and the ICF was performed by two independent reviewers, with an excellent concordance level (k = 0.941), using the method described by Cieza et al.

Results: A total of 94 items were analyzed, in which 154 meaningful concepts were identified and linked to 48 ICF categories, of which 49% were from activities and participation component (d) and 36.8% from body functions (b).

Conclusions: The scales are linked with the classification at different levels. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire was the most limited instrument. Bristol Female Urinary Tract Symptoms Questionnaire and Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire presented greater agreement with the ICF, but the concepts in their items are mostly linked to body functions, denoting a biomedical vision. King’s Health Questionnaire demonstrated greater affinity with the ICF, and most concepts were related to the activities and participation categories, approaching more effectively the biopsychosocial model.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Choosing the right instrument to assess the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence can be a difficult task, since the instruments have different approaches.

• The use of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a reference among health professionals involved in rehabilitation of women with urinary incontinence will promote unification of the language about this group functioning.

• The comparison among instruments presented here will help the professional to choose the one that provides the greatest amount of information in a consistent way, aiding the clinical decision-making process.

Keywords:

• Urinary incontinence
• International Classification of Functioning
• Disability and Health
• quality of life
• functioning
• health status

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.