Determinants of referral of women with urinary incontinence to specialist services: a national cohort study using primary care data from the UK

Abstract

About one in four women with urinary incontinence were referred to specialist secondary care services within one month after a UI diagnosis and one in three within one year. Referral rates decreased with age which confirms concerns that older women with UI are less likely to receive care according to existing clinical guidelines. Referral rates were also lower in women from minority-ethnic backgrounds. These finding may reflect clinicians' beliefs about the appropriateness of referral, differences in women's preferences for treatment, or other factors leading to inequities in referral for urinary incontinence.