Managing incontinence: Women's normalizing strategies

Abstract

Women's strategies for managing urinary incontinence were examined in a grounded-theory study. The women's basic social concern was dealing with incontinence in a manner that enabled them to feel normal. Feeling normal meant being able to do what they wanted to do and needed to do to have a normal life-style as they perceived it. This goal was accomplished by normalizing incontinence and its management. Normalization was achieved by directing its course through self-management, accounting for it in terms of personal history and life experiences, and delaying medical counsel. These strategies are described. The findings provide fresh insights about women's response to incontinence and their practice of self-managing its consequences.