Introduction: Data regarding urinary symptoms among refugee women is sparse, but multiple risk factors associated with urinary incontinence (UI) such as high parity and diabetes have been reported to be more prevalent in resettled refugee populations. Refugees often have low socioeconomic status and low health literacy rates, which may decrease their likelihood of initiating a discussion of UI with their healthcare providers, exacerbating existing barriers to care such as culture and language. Data from the Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program reports over 90,000 refugees have resettled in Arizona. We sought to investigate the prevalence of incontinence amongst women of this group and to assess their comfort and patterns in discussing incontinence with healthcare providers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, multi-ethnic refugee women recruited with convenience sampling and word-of-mouth strategies within refugee community spaces from July 2021 to November 2021 were administered a 20-item questionnaire that was translated into Arabic, Burmese, Swahili, and Somali. Urinary incontinence was defined by an affirmative response to any of the 6-item Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) questions or having more than one reported occurrence of stress or urgency incontinence per month. Additional questions also addressed comfort with discussing UI with healthcare providers. Results: In total, 58 participants were included in the study, 68.4% of whom originated from Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Burundi. The prevalence of UI in this sample was 50%, with higher reports of urgency compared to stress incontinence. 82.8% reported they never discussed urinary symptoms with their healthcare provider, despite 59.6% of participants reporting feeling comfortable having these discussions. Additionally, 77.6% of these women reported never being asked about these symptoms by a healthcare provider. Conclusions: Refugee women have a high prevalence of urinary incontinence, which exceeds or at least matches the prevalence of urinary incontinence in the general female population. Many of these women are not discussing urinary symptoms with their healthcare providers, which may be in part due to the lack on inquiry by the provider. Healthcare providers caring for refugee women should consider screening for this condition during regular office visits. The long-term goal is to identify and minimize health disparities within refugee populations. SOURCE OF Funding: Mayo Clinic in Arizona (AZ) Small Grants
