Prompted Voiding is an Effective Management Tool for Elderly Incontinence

According to a survey conducted by The University of Hong Kong in 2003, 10%-15% of those aged 65 and above in Hong Kong suffer from urinary incontinence. Among elderly residents of nursing homes, the occurrence of urinary incontinence has increased significantly over the past 20 years, from 23.3% in 1992 to 45% in 2003 and 54.1% in 2009. The most common way of managing urinary incontinence among elderly people is to use adult diapers, which however could affect their dignity and self-confidence. It also irritates their skin, leading to a greater chance that they will develop urinary tract infections. There are three behavioral strategies which can be used for managing urinary incontinence: timed voiding, bladder training, and prompted voiding. According to research conducted in other countries, prompted voiding is the most effective measure for managing urinary incontinence among the elderly, and can reduce their reliance on diapers.
PV is a non-invasive behavioral strategy. Caregivers will remind the elderly to go to the washroom regularly, so as to reduce the occurrence of incontinence and increase their awareness of bladder control. As the workflow of PV is simple and straightforward, frontline staff at nursing homes can easily work on it. While this cost-effective strategy is widely adopted in overseas nursing homes, no studies on PV have been conducted in Hong Kong. The research conducted by PolyU’s School of Nursing is the first local study about the effectiveness of PV as a behavioral strategy to manage urinary incontinence.
The researchers selected 52 elderly people who met the criteria for inclusion from 486 voluntary participants. The 52 participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (PV therapy) and a control group (normal incontinence care). The results showed that the urinary incontinence rate among those with PV therapy dropped from 72.6% to 58.7%, while the rate for the control group rose from 66% to 77.6%. This indicates that PV is effective in reducing urinary incontinence in local nursing homes and that the effects are sustainable over time.

To read the entire article from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Click Here.

Pedagogy inservice Toileting and Elimination review the prompted voiding techniques. This inservice is designed for long term care nursing assistants and CNA's, and provides information on constipation, urinary incontinence, urinary catheter care, and urinary tract infections. Specific interventions for the prevention and treatment of each kind of urinary incontinence are described.

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