Toileting Behaviors Related to Urination in Women: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review explores the state of science regarding women’s toileting behaviors, gaps in knowledge, and areas for future research. Online databases were searched to identify papers published in English between January 2010 through July 2019; the search identified 25 articles. The Toileting Behaviors–Women’s Elimination Behaviors scale has been published in four validated language versions and used in 17 of the 25 studies. The most frequent behaviors include concern about public toilet cleanliness, delaying urination when busy or away from home, and using different toileting postures at and away from home. Determinants of toileting behaviors include environmental factors, chronic health conditions, and cognitive/psychological factors. Associations were found between toileting behaviors and lower urinary tract symptoms and between toileting postures and uroflowmetric parameters and post-void residual volume. Strategies that address modifiable determinants of toileting behaviors should be developed and tested in future research. Furthermore, little is known about the toileting behaviors and bladder health in older women and women from developing countries. Rigorous studies are needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms of toileting behaviors, the nature of associations between toileting behaviors and lower urinary tract symptoms, and effects of the environment on women’s toileting behaviors.