Evaluation of the Quality of Life of Patients Who Use Intermittant SelfCatheterization by Themselves and by Their Caregivers

Objective: The clean intermittent catheterization is a device used by individuals with neurogenic bladder. The ISC can be used by the patient or by a caregiver. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between ISC practice skills and quality of life of individuals using ISC. Material and Methods: Between June 2018 and May 2019,126 patients using Clean Intermittent Self Catheterization (ISC) in a city hospital urology clinic was included in the study. All patients completed the Turkish version of the ISC-Q(T-ISC-Q) and Qualiveen questionnaires. ISC users were divided into two groups: Self-administered and caregiver practitioners. Spearman’s correlation coefficients between ISC-Q and Qualiveen were used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 51.53±16.47 years, and the duration of ISC was 42.15 ± 12.56 months. A total of 72 patients reported that they performed the ISC, while the number of patients who underwent ISC by the caregiver was 54. ISC-Q scores were 70.98±15.41 for ease of use, 42.85±18.40 for convenience, 75.71±14.97 for privacy, and 56.34±14.57 for psychological well-being, respectively. The results of the Cronbach α was 0.782. ISC-Q total score was positively correlated with Qualiveen total score (r=0.567, p=0.04). Patients who used their own ISC had higher ISC-Q scores than patients who had ISC administered by the caregiver. Conclusion: As a result, while the ease of use of ISC is high, there is a decrease in the convenience and psychological well-being of the patients using ISC. This was lower in patients who had ISC administered by the caregiver.