Factors Associated with Stigma in Adult Women with Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Due to the specific nature of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs), female patients are often labelled with stigma. The presence of stigma has a serious impact on their mental health, social functioning and healthcare-seeking behavior, which in turn affects disease recovery. Purpose: To identify the sense of stigma and its associated influencing factors in female patients with uUTIs. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2022 and December 2023, during which samples were collected from 240 adult women with uUTIs from various healthcare facilities in Wuxi, China. General information questionnaires, the Chinese Version of the Social Impact Scale (range 24 to 96), the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, the Self-Rated Anxiety Scale and the Self-Rated Depression Scale were used. SPSS 27.0 was used to create the database and statistical analysis was performed after data entry by two people. Results: A total of 240 validated questionnaires were collected in this study, and the patients' stigma score was 2.71 ± 0.37 (at a moderate level of stigma). Internalized stigma was the highest and social isolation the lowest of the four dimensions of stigma. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the level of stigma was higher in patients with symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency, and hematuria uUTIs. uUTIs with longer duration of symptoms, more frequent episodes, less knowledge about the disease, higher anxiety and depression, and lower levels of perceived social support for the disease had higher levels of stigma. Conclusion: Studies have shown that female patients with uUTIs have a moderate level of stigma. Nursing administrators should pay attention to the sense of shame in this population and enhance health promotion to reduce their sense of stigma.