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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Urology
Volume 12 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1397229
"I'm a bathroom expert": A qualitative study exploring how students with physical disabilities manage toileting during college
Provisionally accepted- 1 Departments of Family Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Urology, Division of Student Life, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
- 2 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
- 3 Division of Student Life, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
- 4 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
- 5 Departments of Urology and Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
- 6 Departments of Urology and Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Health care providers caring for youth with physical disabilities encourage them to be as independent as possible, which includes obtaining higher education when feasible. However, little is known about the experiences of higher education students in managing their toileting. We performed 1:1 semi-structured interviews with 13 current college students with physical disabilities (4 male, 9 female), of whom six were on a formal bladder and/or bowel management program. Three researchers analyzed all transcripts using constructivist grounded theory procedures. We identified six themes, including: 1) adherence to prescribed programs, 2) importance of time management, 3) interfering with class, 4) balancing intake and toileting, 5) campus bathroom experiences, and 6) acclimating to new living situations. Students needed strong personal skills in time management, adaptability, and self-advocacy to both manage their toileting needs and engage in academic and social activities. This often took time to develop while in college. They faced barriers such as a lack of private, well-maintained bathrooms. Health care providers should encourage their patients to develop these personal skills prior to starting college, while colleges need to better support these students through honoring their accommodation needs and ensuring the availability of private, accessible bathrooms.
Keywords: Spina bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Disability, persons with, neurogenic bladder, neurogenic bowel Funding: Streur-NICHD 1K23HD10598701A1, Oluwaferanmi O. Okanlami-NIDDK K12-DK-111011
Received: 07 Mar 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Okanlami, Kreschmer, Gupta, Lee, Sarma and Streur. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Courtney S. Streur, Departments of Urology and Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
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