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Incontinence is not a subject most people feel comfortable discussing, but it is a fact of life for many older people. Perhaps reflecting the associated stigma, it has not been widely researched, especially in low and middle-income countries (Batmani et al, 2021). Yet it is far from uncommon. It has been reported that 16 per cent of people aged 60 or more living in southern Brazil experience some form of urinary incontinence (Dziekaniak, Meucci & Cesar, 2019). Incontinence can add to pressures on healthcare systems by increasing the risk of conditions like genitourinary infections, which lead to over 200,000 hospitalisations a year in Brazil (Dias & Barros, 2019).