About the user respondents
The age distribution of female catheter user respondents varied from under 5 to over 80 years, with the largest population (60%) being 40-69 of age. Countries included in the study were Germany, the Netherlands, UK, France, Italy, Sweden and Denmark.
The top three causes of bladder problems in respondents were multiple sclerosis (20%), spinal cord injury – paraplegia/tetraplegia (12%), and spina bifida (5%).
30% of catheter users had slightly reduced or considerably reduced hand function, and 30% used a wheel chair. Some users had more than 30 years experience, while others were new to self catheterisation.
Products used before the trial included LoFric Primo (38%), SpeediCath Compact (20%), SpeediCath (13%), LoFric (12%), Other (6%). 11% of respondents were new to self catheterisation.
The study group concluded that the best features of LoFric Sense were the handle (good grip, good size and non touch catheterisation), package design, length of the catheter (enabling complete bladder emptying), instant activation of the surface coating, ease of use and the general product discreetness. On all features, LoFric Sense scored between 4 and 5 out of 5.
The market research was performed between February and September 2010. Questionnaires for both catheter users and healthcare professionals were used.