Stakeholders' and users' views of a leisure centre based continence clinic

Abstract

This thesis describes a study of stakeholders' and women's views of a nurse-led continence clinic held in a leisure centre. Its purpose was to explore their perceptions of the clinic to provide a response to the following research questions: 'What prompted the development of a nurse-led continence clinic within a leisure centre and in what way is this unique or different?'; 'In what way do the philosophies differ between the stakeholders involved in developing the 'Quay to Health' and the views of the women who use the clinic?', 'How does incontinence impact on women's lives and what are the coping strategies employed by them?' and 'How might a leisure based continence clinic meet women's needs?' This qualitative study used a single case study design (Stake 1995) with elements of a grounded theory approach for the data analysis (Glaser & Strauss 1967, Strauss & Corbin 1998). The analysis was based on interviews with seven stakeholders and 12 women who attended the continence clinic at the 'Quay to Health'. The women were interviewed twice, once soon after their initial appointment at the clinic and again six months later. Two incontinence impact questionnaires (IIQ-7, Uebersax et al 1995 and ICIQ-SF, Donovan et al 2001) were completed, together with a frequency/volume chart prior to both interviews. Findings indicated that partnership working was a key issue for stakeholders underpinning the development of the 'Quay to Health'. Both stakeholders and users also identified several cross benefits by co-locating health and leisure services including opportunities for increased levels of physical activity and a more relaxed and informal environment. The impact of incontinence on women's lives can involve limitations on their social activities, relationships and compromises their self-esteem. A range of coping strategies were employed by women to manage these difficulties. The women preferred to attend a clinic in a non-clinical setting and suggested that as they did not see incontinence as an illness, a leisure centre was a more acceptable environment within which to seek help. The implications of these views are explored.

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