[Urinary incontinence: knowledge, mental representations and nursing practice. A survey in Geneva's University Hospital].

Introduction: This article presents the results of a survey led by senior nurses at Geneva's University Hospital in 2007, in acute and long-term care.

Aim: The aim was to identify obstacles and nursing resources available for patients with urinary incontinence (UI) in order to improve their care. METHOD; A questionnaire was sent to 3300 health care professionals: doctors, nurses, midwives and auxiliary nurses, with a response rate of 55%.

Results: Health care professionals have incomplete knowledge about UI however their mental representations of UI are not an obstacle to care. In their practice they use few assessment tools and specialized health care professional are rarely consulted.

Conclusion: Current measures for improvement aim to make resources in UI more visible, develop practice guidelines and offer specific training.