Urinary continence care in Australian nursing homes

Objective Exploring urinary continence (UC) assessment and management practices in Australian nursing homes. Design Mixed method using a questionnaire and interviews. Setting Five nursing homes in Australian metropolitan cities. Subjects Participants 121 staff: mostly female (91%) with a range of roles including personal care assistants (PCAs) (63%), enrolled nurses (ENs) (11%), registered nurses (RNs) (20%) and managers (4%). Main outcomes measure(s) Compliance with and perceptions about UC assessment and management. Results 77% (n=71) of care staff (PCAs, ENs and RNs) were compliant with the UC management protocol of checking for wetness every 2 to 2.5 hours. Toileting time and frequency of changing continence aids varied between nursing homes. Perceptions about the accuracy of UC assessments and knowledge of an older person following UC assessment also differed between nursing homes. Conclusion Areas where UC assessment and management in nursing homes could be improved include identifying the voiding times of older people, compliance with care plans in management practice, and caregiver ability to assess the capacity of continence aids to absorb urine. Training for effective continence care in nursing homes needs to be enhanced.