Incontinence: enhancing care in women's prisons.

BACKGROUND

There is no evidence on the prevalence of urinary and faecal incontinence symptoms in women prisoners.

AIM: To explore the extent and management of bladder and bowel symptoms to inform prison health services and prison nursing practice.

METHOD: An anonymous self-report questionnaire tailored to low levels of English literacy, and administered in one women's prison.

RESULTS

Women prisons have a higher reported prevalence of urinary and faecal incontinence, constipation and nocturnal enuresis than community populations; this is an unrecognised health problem.

CONCLUSION

Prison primary care nurses should consider introducing sensitive but direct questions on bladder and bowel symptoms into admission assessment processes.