Pelvic floor disorder assessment of knowledge and symptoms: an educational intervention for Spanish-speaking women (PAKS study)

Introduction and hypothesis Educational interventions have been effective in improving postpartum knowledge, performance of pelvic floor exercises, and bowel-specific quality-of-life. Our primary objective was to determine if a video-based educational intervention on pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) would increase Spanish-speaking women's knowledge of PFDs, and secondarily to assess if it would decrease pelvic floor symptoms. We hypothesized that Spanish-speaking women would improve their pelvic floor knowledge and symptoms post-intervention. Methods Inclusion criteria included women age 18 years and older and self-reported as a predominantly Spanish-speaker or equally bilingual English- and Spanish-speaker. Changes in knowledge were assessed with the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). Changes in symptoms were assessed with the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20). Linear regression assessed for independent effects. Results One hundred and fourteen women were enrolled and 112 completed the pre- and post-intervention PIKQ. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 50 (14) years. Immediate post-intervention scores showed significant improvement in knowledge. Total PIKQ score improved by 5.1 (4.7) points ( p < 0.001). POP subscore improved by 2.7 (2.7) points (p<0.001) and UI subscore improved by 2.3 (2.5) points ( p < 0.001). Improvement in knowledge continued after four weeks ( p < 0.001). PFDI-20 prolapse (p=0.02), colorectal-anal ( p < 0.001) and urinary ( p = 0.01) scores significantly improved only for the most symptomatic women at baseline. Using linear regression, total PIKQ ( p = 0.03) and total PFDI-20 scores ( p = 0.04) were associated with predominantly Spanish-speakers versus fully bilingual. Conclusion Findings support the efficacy of a video-based educational intervention to improve knowledge of PFDs in Spanish-speaking women. The most symptomatic women benefitted from this intervention.