ABSTRACT
Recognising uncertainty is particularly important in an applied field like healthcare because health professionals and policy makers have a history of doing more harm than good – sometimes on a massive scale – with interventions used with the best of intentions. Health professionals and patients are sometimes uncertain about the effects of treatments because they are not aware of research that could resolve their uncertainties. For urinary incontinence, surveys were done to identify recommendations for further research in treatment guidelines and systematic reviews. Patients have suffered because of the failure to acknowledge and address some of these uncertainties and the General Medical Council has recently made clear that doctors 'must help to resolve uncertainties about the effects of treatments'. The Bladder and Bowel Foundation also published web links in its own magazine, and those of other patient organisations, such as Cystitis and Overactive Bladder, and Coloplast.
