Lower urinary tract dysfunction in children. What do pre–school teachers know about it?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the basic knowledge of pre–school teachers who deal with children between the ages of 4 and 7 years, who present signs of lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a survey with 50 teachers from 9 private schools working with pre–school children. The criteria for selection were if teachers were certified or non–certified elementary school teachers – NCEST and the amount of professional experience. RESULTS: Thirty–three teachers considered that the normal daily urinary frequency should be from 4 to 7 times. Two of the 50 teachers considered it normal to urinate less than 4 times per day and 15 teachers considered more than 7 times per day as normal. There was no difference between the 2 categories of certified or NCEST nor between those with more or less than five years of professional experience. Thirty–three percent believed that to urinate more than 4 times during a class period (4–5 hours) could indicate a urinary problem. There was a statistically significant difference among the certified and NCEST but not in terms of time of professional experience. If during this period the child would not ask to urinate, only 18% considered that as an indication of urinary problem. When asked about the symptoms that would indicate urinary urgency and urge incontinence, only 24% of the teachers connected it with urinary problem. There was no difference in terms of professional background or professional experience in these 2 last analyses. CONCLUSION: Our data shows evidences that private pre–schools teachers are not well informed of the clinical manifestation of LUTD.