Ren Jie-Qiong, Li Ming, Xu Dong-Juan, Gao Jie, Chi Jun-Tao, Yuan Min, Lin Xing-Feng, Du Hong-Xia, Wu Chen, Wang Ke-Fang
School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
School of Nursing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
J Nurs Manag. 2023 Apr 30;2023:9207120. doi: 10.1155/2023/9207120. eCollection 2023.
To estimate the prevalence and bother of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and the work-related and individual factors associated with LUTS among a representative sample of female nurses.
A healthy nursing workforce is essential to advance global health goals, especially during times of extraordinary demand for nursing care. LUTS frequently occur and persist in women and are correlated with multiple negative health outcomes and diminished work engagement and productivity. However, the study of LUTS among female nurses failed to receive sufficient attention from researchers.
We used baseline data for 13,191 female nurses in China collected for the prospective cohort study, the Nurse Urinary Related Health Study (NURS). We assessed nurses' self-reported LUTS and symptom-related bother using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Female LUTS. We used descriptive statistics to summarize LUTS prevalence and its related bother and a mixed-effects logistic regression model to test the effects of work-related and individual factors on LUTS.
Most of the participants in this study were younger than 40 years old (82.9%), were married (74.8%), and had given birth once or never (73.7%). Few participants had chronic diseases (3.4%), consumed alcohol (7.3%), smoked (0.4%), or had overweight/obesity (27.7%). The prevalence of any LUTS was 51.1%, and over 50% of the nurses with LUTS in this study had experienced moderate or severe bother, except for urinary frequency. Working longer than five years, more than 40 hours per week, and in Level A, major tertiary hospitals were found to be risk factors of LUTS, and a nurse-to-bed ratio higher than 0.40 was found to be a protective factor. Increased fluid intake also was found to be a protective factor of LUTS in nurses, and having chronic constipation was found to be a risk factor.
LUTS are highly prevalent and severely bothersome among female nurses in China, despite the fact that the female nurses in this study were relatively young, healthy, had few childbirths, and were living healthy lifestyles. This finding warrants remedial action that is related to both behavioral and environmental factors to ensure a healthy nursing workforce. Nurses cannot reasonably be expected to contribute to global health when one of their basic needs as humans, i.e., the normal function of urinary elimination, is ignored. . Nurse managers should be aware that nurses' basic needs regarding urination are negatively affected by LUTS and related bother. Nurse managers should address LUTS-related problems on multiple levels, including overseeing and reporting LUTS in nurses, exploring innovative care models to mitigate the negative effects of excessive workloads on nurses, and remodeling the nursing culture and encouraging positive coping behaviors for the self-health of nurses.
在具有代表性的女性护士样本中，评估下尿路症状（LUTS）的患病率及困扰程度，以及与LUTS相关的工作因素和个人因素。
一支健康的护理队伍对于推进全球卫生目标至关重要，尤其是在对护理服务有特殊需求的时期。LUTS在女性中频繁发生且持续存在，与多种负面健康结果相关，并导致工作投入和生产力下降。然而，女性护士中LUTS的研究未得到研究人员的充分关注。
我们使用了中国13191名女性护士的基线数据，这些数据来自前瞻性队列研究“护士泌尿系统相关健康研究（NURS）”。我们使用国际尿失禁咨询委员会女性LUTS问卷评估护士自我报告的LUTS及其症状相关困扰。我们使用描述性统计来总结LUTS患病率及其相关困扰，并使用混合效应逻辑回归模型来测试工作相关因素和个人因素对LUTS的影响。
本研究中的大多数参与者年龄小于40岁（82.9%），已婚（74.8%），生育过一次或未生育（73.7%）。很少有参与者患有慢性病（3.4%）、饮酒（7.3%）、吸烟（0.4%）或超重/肥胖（27.7%）。任何LUTS的患病率为51.1%，本研究中超过50%有LUTS的护士经历过中度或重度困扰，尿频除外。工作超过五年、每周工作超过40小时以及在A类大型三级医院工作被发现是LUTS的危险因素，护士与床位比高于0.40被发现是一个保护因素。增加液体摄入量也被发现是护士LUTS的保护因素，患有慢性便秘被发现是一个危险因素。
在中国女性护士中，LUTS非常普遍且严重困扰她们，尽管本研究中的女性护士相对年轻、健康、生育少且生活方式健康。这一发现需要采取与行为和环境因素相关的补救措施，以确保有一支健康的护理队伍。当护士作为人的基本需求之一，即排尿的正常功能被忽视时，不能合理地期望她们为全球卫生做出贡献。护士管理者应该意识到，护士排尿的基本需求受到LUTS及其相关困扰的负面影响。护士管理者应在多个层面解决与LUTS相关的问题，包括监督和报告护士中的LUTS、探索创新护理模式以减轻工作量过大对护士的负面影响，以及重塑护理文化并鼓励护士采取积极的应对行为来促进自身健康。
