INSTRUMENTS FOR ASSESSING FECAL INCONTINENCE AND ITS CHARACTERIZATION: SCOPING REVIEW.

• Grant number: 24/01807-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marair Gracio Ferreira Sartori
• Grantee: Nicole de Almeida Maciente Martins da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fecal incontinence (FI) is a condition that has a significant impact on several physical, emotional and social aspects of an individual's quality of life. Many patients report withdrawing from their social lives due to their medical condition, in addition to hiding the problem from their family and doctors. This has led to difficulties for healthcare professionals in identifying people affected by FI (Bharucha et al, 2015). Thus, the importance of an effective procedure that allows identification, monitoring and treatment of FI in patients, through available assessment instruments, is clear. The objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of existing assessment tools for FI and AI, analyzing their characteristics, target populations, objectives and domains, in order to identify existing gaps in research about the topic and detect which aspects of fecal/anal incontinence are not well evaluated in the instruments already present in current literature. The scoping review will employ Arksey and O'Malley's methodology, screening studies published in English or Portuguese (Arksey e O'Malley, 2005).