Incontinence management
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
|
|
Modules - Incontinence Management
BRIEF TRIAL OF PROMPTED VOIDING IS BEST PREDICTOR OF SUCCESS
Results from our study on predictors of successful prompted voiding prove the point. Findings showed that a resident's appropriate toileting rate during the first three days of the intervention was a better predictor of longer term responsiveness than either the resident's cognitive status or functional ability (1). Functional status measures failed to identify a substantial proportion of residents who were responsive, and in a finding that bears repeating, cognitive status was not at all related to responsiveness. By comparison, an appropriate toileting rate higher than 66% accurately identified the most responders while screening out the most non-responders.
We recognize that translating this finding into daily practice is more challenging than simply excluding the most cognitively and functionally impaired residents from prompted voiding programs. On the other hand, if you have ever imagined yourself in the slippers of one of these frail residents, you'll see something to celebrate here. Our findings suggest that the human spirit is so resilient that it can manage to triumph--in unpredictable fashion--over the most severe bodily onslaughts. So in one of the last places many of us would have thought to look for it, we find dramatic evidence of what could be called hope for a better life.
(prev | next)
|
|
|
