Primary care providers demonstrated significantly higher comfort levels managing urinary symptoms compared to other pelvic floor disorders, according to a cross-sectional survey.

The survey of 153 primary care providers (PCPs) found that 74.5% and 78.4% of providers felt comfortable managing stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and overactive bladder (OAB) respectively, compared to only 32.7% for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and 22.9% for fecal incontinence (FI).

Years of experience emerged as a key factor. PCPs with 1-10 years of practice showed 4.41 times higher odds of discomfort managing POP compared to those with over 20 years of experience. Those still in training demonstrated 4.54 times higher odds of discomfort.

Specialty differences were notable. Internal medicine physicians reported more discomfort managing SUI and OAB compared to geriatricians.

Practice setting influenced referral patterns. For SUI, suburban practices showed higher referral difficulty compared to urban settings. Non-academic practices demonstrated increased referral difficulty compared to academic settings.

Almost half of providers (49%) referred 75-100% of POP cases. For FI, 43% referred 75-100% of cases. In contrast, most providers referred only 1-24% of SUI (43%) and OAB (48%) cases.

The survey, published in Family Medicine and Community Health, revealed knowledge gaps, with only 13.7% and 17.0% of providers correctly estimating POP and FI prevalence respectively. Providers more accurately estimated SUI (34%) and OAB (39.2%) prevalence.

Study limitations included convenience sampling, a relatively small sample size, and potential sampling bias toward providers interested in women's health.

The authors declared having no competing interests.