RESUMEN
Urinaryincontinence(UI)inwomenisanawkward,oftenundiscussedsubject,associatedwithanxiety,depression,socialisolationandaffectingqualityoflife.Thisstudyaimedtoassessprimaryhealthcarephysicians'knowledgeandpracticeinSaudiArabia'sEasternProvince.Thiscross-sectional study was conducted in primary healthcare centers of three main sectors (Dammam, Khobar and Qatif) in the Eastern Province by a self-administeredsurvey.Thesamplesizewas120physicianswhocompletedthequestionnaire.MostprimaryhealthcarephysiciansclearlyunderstoodUI,one-thirdofthemroutinelyaskedpatientsaboutUI,andabout55%ofthemcommonlyencounteredUIintheirpractice.Lackofscreeningtools,unfamiliaritywithavailabletreatmentalgorithms,andlackoftimewerethemostcommonbarriers.Almostallprimarycareproviders(95.8%)referredUIpatientstosecondarycare.Sixtypercentphysicianshadgoodoverallknowledge,and52.5%hadgoodattitudesandpracticesaboutUI.Therewasnostatisticallysignificantrelationshipexceptforjoblevelinrelationtoknowledgeandpracticescores.ImprovededucationandbasicscreeningprogramsandtreatmentinprimarycarecenterswouldimproveUIdetectionandmanagementattheprimarycarelevel