Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s appraisal of continence information brochures

Prabha Lakhan; Kalisha Soe; Audrey Burgin; Annie Fonda; Noel Hayman

doi:10.1071/CJ24040

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 31(1)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s appraisal of continence information brochures

Prabha Lakhan ^A ^* , Kalisha Soe ^A , Audrey Burgin ^A , Annie Fonda ^A and Noel Hayman ^A ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Directorate, Metro South Health, 37 Wirraway Parade, Inala, Brisbane, Qld 4077, Australia.

^B The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, Herston, Qld, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: prabha.lakhan@health.qld.gov.au

Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 31, CJ24040 https://doi.org/10.1071/CJ24040

Submitted: 27 June 2024 Accepted: 16 October 2024 Published: 4 February 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Continence Foundation of Australia. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of seven brochures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with urinary incontinence (UI).

Method

Twenty-three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, aged between 40 and 76 years, experiencing UI and attending an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service, participated in semi-structured digitally recorded interviews. They appraised seven brochures, developed by the Continence Foundation of Australia, for use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Participants were provided with one brochure at a time to read and comment on its usefulness; presentation including appropriateness of the artwork, colours, structure and design; any improvements; and whether the brochures should be provided to all women with UI. A thematic analysis of the interview contents was conducted by two researchers.

Results

The interviews identified four main themes including usefulness of the information presented in the brochures; readability and comprehensibility of the information; suggestions for refining the brochures; and usefulness of brochures to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. All women found the information in all the brochures useful, easy to read and understand, and recommended that they should be provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with risk factors for developing, or those with UI. A few suggestions to refine the brochures were identified.

Conclusions

This study has provided evidence that the brochures are a valuable resource for raising awareness about UI among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women attending urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare settings.

Keywords: Aboriginal, incontinence, information brochures, Torres Strait Islander, women, written health information.

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