Management of urinary incontinence in older women using videoconferencing versus conventional management: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

We compared telemedicine with a conventional outpatient continence service (CS) in community-dwelling older women with urge or stress incontinence. After an initial biofeedback-assisted pelvic floor muscle training session, subjects were randomized to behavioural training for eight weeks via the CS (n = 27) or a telemedicine continence programme (TCP) (n = 31). Participants in both treatment groups experienced significant improvement in their symptoms, namely, a reduction in the number of daily incontinence episodes (P<0.001) and voiding frequency (P<0.001), while the volume of urine at each micturition increased (P<0.005). Pelvic floor muscle strength as measured by the Oxford Score also improved (P<0.005). There were no significant differences in outcomes between the two groups. Thus our findings suggest that videoconferencing is as effective as conventional methods in the management of urinary incontinence.