Digital delivery of CBT for overactive bladder may be an acceptable option

Delivering cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) via a smartphone app appears to be a feasible approach, say researchers in Urogyencology in December 2024.

“Although only a pilot study, this study provides evidence to support the application of a digital platform to overcome the real-world barriers for first-line treatment with behavioral therapy,” such as “availability, accessibility, acceptability, and affordability,” says Geoffrey Cundiff (University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, Canada) and colleagues.

The intervention, a smartphone app, delivers an 8 week CBT program with a new module each week. These modules combine evidence-based information videos and skill-building exercises that include behavioral therapy, CBT, pelvic muscle training, physical exercises and stretching, as well as general health information.

Twenty-six women with a mean age of 51.6 years participated in the study. They were recruited from waiting lists of women referred for urinary incontinence to three Irish hospitals, and they all had at least one OAB symptom – urgency, frequency, or nocturia. 

A total of 18 women completed the 8-week program and all of them reported a reduction in their OAB symptoms. Specifically, scores on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ)-OAB significantly decreased, from a mean 7.13 points at baseline to 5.19 points at week 4 and 5.00 points at week 8.

There was also a significant improvement in the quality-of-life measure of the ICIQ-OAB, with mean scores decreasing from 84.45 points at baseline to 69.06 points at week 4, and 62.41 points at week 8. An improvement in quality of life was reported by 82% of women.

The women kept 72-hour urinary diaries, and these showed that urinary frequency fell from a daily average of 10.19 visits to urinate in the first week to 6.71 visits in week 8, while the number of incontinence episodes per day fell from a respective 10.00 to 3.57.

Cundiff and team highlight that 69% of patients perceived their symptoms to have improved, as indicated by the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scale, with 38% rating their symptoms as much better or very much better.

The participants gave the app a high rating for functionality on the Mobile Application Rating Scale.

“This pilot study demonstrated that a digital platform is a feasible approach to providing an 8-week [behavioral therapy] and CBT program for treating women with OAB,” say the researchers.

News stories are provided by medwireNews, which is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2024 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group

Read the article here: Urogynecology 2024: 30; 956–961

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