Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the commonest bacterial infections managed in general practice, with women being predominantly affected. Asking patients with suspected UTIs to produce midstream urine samples for testing, using urinary dipsticks and urinary culture, is a common feature of the management of UTIs in primary care. This qualitative study aimed to explore women’s understanding of urine collection, how contamination of urine samples can occur, and how analysis of their samples informed the management of their suspected UTI. The findings indicate that patients do not always have the understanding they need to help them produce uncontaminated urine samples and do not always receive information derived from urinalysis, which could reduce antibiotic consumption and antibiotic resistance. |