REVEAL OAB - Real-world experiences and voices exploring the actual lived burden of OAB: A mixed-methods multi-country PROMs study on OAB patients’ quality of life

REVEAL-OAB is a mixed-methods study using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) to explore the quality of life of people with OAB. It is led by the European Association for Urology (EAU) Patient Office, in partnership with the EAU Policy Office, the World Federation for Incontinence and Pelvic Pain (WFIPP), the Sociedad Iberoamericana de Neurourología y Uro Ginecología (SINUG), the International Continence Society (ICS), and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ). 

The study is carried out by a team of researchers working under the guidance of a Steering Committee that includes members from all these organisations. The study focuses on seven European countries — France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. 

By collecting both PROM survey responses and personal stories from people living with overactive bladder (OAB), the study aims to reveal what life is really like for patients and the everyday challenges they face. 

The REVEAL project will...

• Provide systematic baseline data on patient outcomes as well as novel patient-centred perspectives. These insights help show where needs are not being met and support the development of person- and patient-centred clinical practice in Europe.
• Contribute to the development of value-based health care in urology.
• Collect data to assess the broader socio-economic effects, providing evidence to inform policy decisions in both national and European settings.
• Generate findings that support the development of interventions and policies aimed at reducing the harmful effects of OAB on both individuals and society.
• Place patients’ experiences at the heart of the research to build a complete picture of life with OAB, extending beyond the medical setting.

REVEAL-OAB uses a combination of approaches: a carefully designed PROM survey, in-depth qualitative interviews, and the PhotoVoice method.

In this approach, patient-participants take photographs showing their life with OAB, which are then used as prompts during semi-structured interviews. This will allow the patient-participants to reveal the kind of information on OAB that pre-structured interviews and surveys alone tend to miss. 

Data collection is scheduled to begin by January 2026, once the study protocol has received ethical approval in each of the seven countries. The data will be collected during spring 2026, and the results will be published in early 2027.

Patient-participants are recruited through a single centre of excellence in each country. Throughout the study, we also wish to collaborate with national patient organisations as well as national urological associations in each country. The national and local stakeholders will receive regular updates on the study in the form of a monthly newsletter. 

• Tiina Vaittinen, Research Lead: tiina@goodmess.global
• Francesco Prata, PROMs Work Package Lead: francesco.prata@gmail.com
• Esther Robijn, Senior Coordinator, EAU Patient Office: e.robijn@uroweb.org
• Lynne Van Poelgeest, President WFIPP: mlvanpoelgeest@gmail.com