Nursing Educational Program and Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on Knowledge and Psychological Problems in Women with Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is a common condition in women, with a considerable knowledge gap and great psychological suffering, especially in the Middle East and Iraqi Kurdistan region, where systematic education interventions are minimal. The study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test/ post-test study design at the Surgical Teaching Hospital in Sulaimani City, Iraqi Kurdistan, with 100 women diagnosed with urinary incontinence, distributed equally as an intervention group (n = 50) and a control group (n = 50). The twelve-week structured nursing educational intervention, conducted over twenty-four sessions, included pelvic floor muscle training, teaching aids, and behavior change methods. Knowledge was assessed using a researcher-appropriated Urinary Incontinence knowledge Scale (UIKS), and psychological Problems was measured on seven domains with a five-point Likert-type psychological problems scale. There was no significant difference between baseline knowledge scores in groups (p = 0.566). Post-intervention, the mean UIIS score in the intervention group improved statistically significantly (1.38 ± 0.22 to 1.91 ± 0.12, respectively, p= <0.001), whereas no statistically significant change was observed in the control group (p 0.134). The intervention group showed a significant improvement in the score of psychological problems (0.97 ± 0.62 to 3.9 ± 30.10) with large effect sizes (d = 0.77-0.90). On the contrary, there was no significant difference in the control group (p = 0.82). The research study shows that an educational program based on nursing and supplemented by pelvic floor muscle training significantly increases patient education about urinary incontinence and, at the same time, reduces the psychological load that women endure in Iraqi Kurdistan, which supports the inclusion of this study in routine outpatient care practices.