Incontinence Care

Incontinence Care

  • Submitted By: mellieb1
  • Date Submitted: 02/26/2009 2:36 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 2646
  • Page: 11
  • Views: 749

Incontinence Care: The Dirty Truth
Nearly one million people reach the 60 year old threshold every month (International Council of Nurses: ICN, 2008). The ageing population in our world today has been an increasing point of concern for many health care agencies and professionals worldwide. Many of our elderly will require nursing care resources, as they age. Long-term care facilities offer such services. They help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of the elderly. However, many of these facilities are privately run, which allows them to create their own policies and procedures for resident care. In the long run, their main focus is purely administrative; the financial outcomes are what drive resident care, not the resident and their needs.
Incontinence affects one in four Canadians over the age of 65 (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario: RNAO, 2005). Across Canada, more than 50% of all residents in long-term care are incontinent (Peterson, 2005), making incontinence a major issue. Many long-term health care facilities have “incontinence protocols based on institution-specific policies and procedures for management and assessment” (Frantz, George, Xakellis Jr., Harvey & Lewis, 2003). Those policies state that residences should only be changed from their soiled briefs when it is absolutely necessary or when the brief reaches 80% wetness (on average one brief every eight hours). Consequently, their skin is relentlessly exposed to moisture, which renders it more susceptible to injury (Frantz, et al, 2003). The aim of this policy is to reduce overhead and operational costs associated with incontinence management (indirect nursing care, direct nursing care and supplies). However, if a resident’s incontinence is not managed properly it can directly lead to pressure ulcers increasing facility costs from $9.09 per day/$3,236.04 a year (Frantz, et al. 2003) to anywhere between $5,000 and $60,000 per ulcer (Overgaard, 2007). How and when did...

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