Development of an ICF‐based questionnaire for urinary and/or fecal incontinence (ICF‐IAF) : The female patients’ perspective using focus groups (subproject)

Aims:
The aim of this study was to identify the problems and resources of
women with urinary or fecal incontinence based on the International
Classification of Function and Health (ICF) framework and detecting the
impact on the personal environment and quality of life. This study forms part of
a project with an overall goal to enable standardized planning and evaluation of
interventions in multi‐professional settings.

Methods:
To answer the study question a mixed‐method sequential design
with a priority to the quantitative approach was considered appropriate.
Regarding methods, focus groups were chosen to collect data. Transcripts
were analyzed with content analysis and identified concepts linked to the
corresponding ICF categories by two different raters. Cohen's kappa was
calculated for interrater reliability.

Results:
Thirteen women with a mean age of 69.9 years were recruited. Four
focus groups were conducted, whereas saturation was reached after two focus
groups. Overall transcripts 99 defined ICF categories at second level could be
linked (body functions = 31, body structures = 5, activities and participation =
33, and environmental factors = 30) whereas 4 categories were not sufficiently
covered by the ICF (3 = personal factors, 1 = not covered).

Conclusions:
This study has determined 103 resources and problems based on
the ICF model of women with urinary and/or fecal incontinence. In spite of
these results, it was shown that four concepts are not fully covered by the ICF
framework. The current data highlight the importance of an extension of the
ICF model, especially towards the personal factors of patients.

KEYWORDS
assessment, patient outcomes, evaluation qualitative, evaluation quantitative, health holistic