Pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse are common health problems in females, They are ignored by a large number of people, students and healthcare staff as well. We hypothesized that knowledge of urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and patient information-seeking preferences are the same in educated and non educated women in a big hospital. In this study we try to determine the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders and compare awareness knowledge of women about pelvic floor disorders with and without health literacy.

This was a cross-sectional survey of students and healthcare staff in university and its hospital.  Enrolled participants completed a survey including demographics, history of incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse symptoms, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory (POPDI), Colorectal-anal Distress Inventory (CRADI), urinary distress inventory (UDI), Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). One way ANOVA was used for comparisons of continuous variables. Chi-square test was used to compare the proportion of categorical variables.

Totally 288 questionnaires are completed (table 1). Students were divided to 4 subgroup; medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing students. Hospital staff composed of secretaries, anesthesia, research and cleaning staff. All sub-groups consisted of 36. Prevelance of urinary incontinence were similiar in students and staff (table 2). There is no difference between symptoms of PFDs. Students have more awareness of POP than staff (P ≥0.003).Women who graduated from high school have more pelvic organ prolapse awareness  and women who graduated from high school or university have more awareness of incontinence than the primary school’s graduates (table 3).

Women with higher education have more pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence awareness.

Women should keep informed about causes and results of PFDs to prevent pelvic floor damage and improve the quality of life with correctable measures.