To assess the state of the research literature addressing what is known about the quality of continence care from the perspective of older adults in long-term care or in receipt of home care.
Scoping review of the literature according to the Joanna Briggs Institute method, reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines. Participant: older adults (>65 years of age), either in receipt of home health or social care services or older adult residents of long-term care (nursing homes). Concept: older adult perspectives on quality of continence care (access, care to meet needs, continuity, goals, expectations, delivery, experiences, personalised care, partnerships in care, well-being and social support). Context: older adults in long-term care or in receipt of home care.
We identified 14 articles from the academic literature. Sources originated from the USA (7), Australia (4), Canada (2) and 1 from Italy. Long-term care residents were the focus of 12 of the articles. Older adults reported limited access and information regarding continence care and services and variable abilities of care staff to deliver care. Older adults wanted to be actively involved in decisions about their care, preserve their autonomy and independence and wanted care to enhance their well-being.
Studies examining the perspectives of older adults regarding the quality of their continence care are few. Older adults value person-centredness, expert advice regarding their condition, allowing preservation of self-determination and independence where possible. Older people value meaningful relationships with empathetic care providers. There remains a need for education of care providers in continence care and for policies and practices to support continence in a dignity-preserving framework.
Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/bprq9/).
(1) To analyse individual and institutional-level factors associated with urinary incontinence in older adults living in nursing homes; (2) to estimate the prevalence of urinary, faecal and double incontinence in nursing home residents.
Cross-sectional study.
Residents aged 65+ living in 22 nursing homes in Catalonia (Spain) were included. Descriptive, bivariate, and multilevel analyses were performed.
The final sample comprised 452 residents (75.9% female, mean age of 87.0 years). The prevalence of urinary, faecal and double incontinence was 77.5%, 46.1% and 45.7%, respectively. Urinary incontinence was statistically significantly associated with neurological conditions, moderate cognitive impairment, moderate dementia, severe cognitive impairment, very severe cognitive impairment and age.
Approximately three out of four nursing home residents suffered from urinary incontinence and almost half of the sample from faecal or double incontinence. Individual-level factors (cognition, neurological conditions and age) played a more important role than institutional-level factors for urinary incontinence.
The findings of this study highlight the importance of individual-level interventions to prevent and manage urinary incontinence in nursing homes.
In Catalonian nursing homes, individual factors such as cognitive impairment and neurological conditions were more strongly associated with urinary incontinence than institutional factors. This has implications for improving care provided to older adults, particularly those with dementia and neurological conditions.
STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines.
Nursing home residents were not involved in this study.