The Development and Implementation of a Physical Therapy Service to treat Urinary Incontinence: Results of a RE-AIM Evaluation

Background: A conservative physiotherapy service implementation addressed to treat urinary incontinence for older women was studied using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework. Design: We conducted a multimethod analysis structured based on RE-AIM. Settings/participants: Included women ≥ 60 years of age, with self-reported UI symptoms. Results: A total of 34 older women were enrolled in the service with a mean age of 61.53 years. There was a significant improvement in the strength of the pelvic floor muscles, power, endurance, and fast contraction capacity after the intervention.Program implementation was supported by Physical Therapy teams who engaged in care coordination. The program has been maintained for over 4 years. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that UI patients would benefit from physiotherapy treatment and that this intervention is feasible. This RE-AIM evaluation provides lessons learned and strategies for future adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Physical Therapy pelvic service.