Behavioral therapy in elderly women with urinary incontinence: content validation of a protocol.

Objective: To develop and validate the content of a behavioral therapy protocol aiming at improving urinary incontinence in elderly women.

Method: This is a methodological study to develop and validate the content of a protocol to be applied with elderly women with urinary incontinence. It was conducted in two phases: 1) development of the protocol based on a literature review, NANDA-I and NIC; 2) content validation through evaluation of the protocol by experts in a focus group.

Results: Five experts participated in the validation of the protocol. The analysis occurred over six days in November 2023. The items evaluated were: 1) Education about urinary incontinence; 2) Assessment of behavior using the voiding diary; 3) Identification of urinary loss using the pad test; 4) Proprioception; 5) Assessment of pelvic floor muscle strength; 6) Perineal exercises. Data analysis followed three stages: pre-analysis, material exploration, and data treatment and interpretation, using thematic content analysis by frequency. Out of the six items, four received total agreement.

Final considerations: The protocol is applicable by nurses. The content and presentation of the protocol are considered valid for the implementation in the treatment of urinary incontinence in elderly women.