Description

The Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) is an assessment tool used to measure the impact of urinary incontinence on individuals’ quality of life. It was developed to help clinical professionals understand how incontinence affects patients’ daily lives and well-being.

Analysis

The IIQ evaluates various aspects of how urinary incontinence affects individuals, including:

Physical Health:
Assesses the impact of incontinence on an individual’s ability to participate in physical activities and maintain physical well-being.
Social Life:
Evaluates the effects of incontinence on the individual’s social life, such as social activities and relationships.
Psychological Well-being:
Measures the psychological effects, such as anxiety and embarrassment, associated with incontinence.
Emotional Well-being:
Includes the impact of incontinence on self-esteem and the overall emotional state of the individual.
The IIQ consists of questions answered on a Likert scale, aiming to capture individuals’ perceptions of the impact of incontinence on their daily life.

Purpose

The purpose of the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire is to:

Impact Assessment:
Provide a reliable measure of the effect of urinary incontinence on quality of life.
Diagnosis and Intervention Planning:
Support diagnosis of the severity of incontinence and aid in the development of personalized intervention and treatment strategies.
Intervention Evaluation:
Track changes in quality of life during treatment and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Scoring

Scoring of the IIQ includes:

Total Score:
Calculated based on the cumulative score of the items, where higher scores indicate a greater impact of incontinence on quality of life.

Subscale Scores:
Scores can be analyzed by category (physical health, social life, psychological well-being, emotional well-being) to better understand specific areas affected.

References

Irvine, M. T., & Steer, R. A. (1997). Incontinence Impact Questionnaire: The Development and Testing of a New Scale. Journal of Urology, 158(4), 1325–1329.
Stanton, S. L., & MacDonald, N. J. (2002). Assessment of Quality of Life in Women with Incontinence Using the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire. British Journal of Urology International, 90(1), 68–73.
Swithinbank, L., & Cardozo, L. (2004). The Impact of Incontinence on Quality of Life: A Review of the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire. European Urology, 46(3), 297–304.