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 percent considered that as an indication of urinary problem. When asked about the symptoms that would indicate urinary urgency and urge incontinence, only 24 percent 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.