Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which causes involuntarily leakage of urine, has an impact on many women and may affect self-efficacy, which, in turn, can lead to poor health-related quality of life (QOL). This study aimed to explore the effects of sociodemographic and health information, symptom distress, self-efficacy, and positive thinking on the health-related QOL (general QOL and urinary incontinence-specific QOL) of women with SUI. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used. Women with SUI were recruited from the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient department and urodynamics examination room of a hospital by convenience sampling from August 2021 to March 2022. Participants were surveyed on the following questionnaires: Urogenital Distress Inventory, Geriatric Self-efficacy Index for Urinary Incontinence, Positive Thinking Scale, 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form. RESULTS: Participants (N = 135) had a mean age of 53.76 years old. The mean SF-12 physical component summary score was 48.48 (physical QOL), and the mental component summary score was 46.56 (mental QOL). The urinary incontinence-specific QOL score was 16.01. Women with greater positive thinking and higher self-efficacy for urinary incontinence had better physical and mental QOL. Women with less symptom distress of urinary incontinence and higher self-efficacy for urinary incontinence had better urinary incontinence-specific QOL. CONCLUSION: The health-related QOL of women with SUI is affected by many factors, including positive thinking, self-efficacy, and symptom distress. Healthcare professionals can provide multifaceted programs to improve the health-related QOL of women with SUI.