Restoring dignity

High prevalence of loss of bladder or bowel control takes a heavy toll on resident confidence and contributes to social isolation, anxiety and depression. 

At least 1 in 3 eldercare residents experience some degree of incontinence, according to national nursing home survey statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If not managed properly, it can cause even bigger problems, such as skin breakdown, subsequent infection or increased fall risk. 

These risks ensure that incontinence management remains a top challenge for long-term care operators. Aside from staff shortages and residents’ tendency to try to hide their condition from family, friends and caregivers, lack of understanding about incontinence care also contributes greatly to the problem. 

Caregivers might view incontinence as a normal part of the aging process and assume that once a person becomes incontinent, it cannot be reversed. 

It’s an unfortunate misunderstanding that experts say leaves staff focusing solely on managing moisture exposure, rather than working to treat and proactively manage the cause of incontinence. 

“Changing the negative stigma requires a holistic approach to reducing episodes of incontinence. This can be achieved by increasing residents’ and care providers’ awareness of the topic of continence management,” says Amin Setoodeh, RN, BSN, BS, vice president of clinical services at Medline Industries. 

Delving deeper

Effective incontinence management requires a facility-wide and evidence-based approach, experts emphasize. 

Investigating the cause of incontinence for each resident and diagnosing the type is necessary to determine if the incontinence is treatable and reversible, experts note. This approach helps because many incontinent individuals may be uncomfortable bringing up the topic with clinical staff, says Alex Sargeant of Hartmann USA. 

To catch incontinence episodes early, he recommends caregivers take the lead by inquiring daily whether the resident has noticed any wetness on his or her clothes or sheets. If so, asking whether this has affected any activities and daily routines, such as engaging in social events or meals, will help staff determine the best treatment or management approach. 

“By continuing to engage individuals about how they are doing in this regard, both caregiver and resident become more comfortable talking about it,” Sargeant says. 

All departments should be involved in incontinence management, including housekeeping, maintenance, dietary, activities, therapy, social services and nursing. Each has a valuable role, stresses Betsy Meyers, vice president of Midwest sales for Gentell. This includes activities staff, who can schedule programming that accommodates toileting schedules; social services, who can  address resident self-esteem and family support; and therapy staff who can supply assistive devices and strength training or transfer skills for residents. 

Another important department is dietary, which can provide adequate fluids and nutritional support for healthy skin integrity or repair, and bladder and bowel health. The maintenance staff can advise on lighting and mattresses, and housekeeping/laundry employees should be encouraged to identify residents who become incontinent. Finally, certified nursing assistants are often on the front lines of toileting and skin maintenance, and can assist nurses with skin treatments.

“We must promote continence rather than encourage dependency,” says Setoodeh. “Each care provider, resident and family member should learn more about different types of incontinence, the cause and the available treatment options. If the goal is optimal health, everyone needs to work together to implement an individualized care plan.”

By doing routine bowel and bladder assessments — upon admission and then on an ongoing basis — incontinence can be managed proactively. 

Focus on flexibility

Every resident has different continence needs and preferences, so operators must adopt a flexible approach, experts emphasize. For Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital in Baltimore, this means ongoing communication among staff and residents, daily monitoring and logging of resident toileting practices, and hourly rounding to cue residents and prevent avoidable accidents. Those who void more often get even more frequent caregiver visits. 

“This is helpful because we may have just rounded, but then a resident may go minutes later,” explains Gloria Blackmon, BSN, RN-BC, director of nursing for long-term care at Levindale. “When we have these individualized plans, we can flex staff to keep up with frequent rounding and prevent someone from having to wait until the next hourly round.”

Having a good grasp on residents’ activity and bedtime schedules also contributes to a successful continence program at Levindale. This allows staff to tailor hydration, toileting cues and even diuretic administration around each resident’s needs. 

If a resident attends a particular activity each day or week, caregivers can work with dietary staff to ensure fluids are offered earlier in the day, or after they return from their function. Staff may cue them to use the restroom before their activity. 

Night owls may benefit from taking diuretics later in the day because they’ll be awake in their room anyway, which can make toileting easier and not impede their participation in other activities offered throughout the day, points out Blackmon. Nursing assistants are the best research detectives. 

“They know the residents and their routines well and it’s important to rely on their knowledge,” she says.

Activities staff and therapists also should be flexible with their programming, allowing for restroom breaks to accommodate all residents — not just those known to be incontinent.

“They should also remind [residents] of the nearest restroom,” stresses Blackmon.

The right products

There’s a plethora of advanced incontinence products on the market today that can simplify the care process, boost resident confidence, improve skin health, and help remove the negative stigma surrounding incontinence. 

“It’s important to establish a guideline for selection of the most appropriate absorbent disposable continence management product that promotes containment and dignity for each resident, based on [the resident’s] assessment,” says Setoodeh. 

Cleansing with a pH-balanced   cleanser is also vital. Unfortunately, many caregivers skip this step in favor of plain soap and water. Because most soaps are alkaline, their use for incontinence cleansing may impair the skin’s protective acid mantle and inadvertently promote skin irritation or breakdown in incontinent residents, says Elaine McGowan, BSN, RN, CWCN, DAPWCA, vice president of clinical affairs for DermaRite Industries. 

Caregivers also may mistakenly believe that simply changing the incontinence brief is sufficient if the episode of urinary continence is considered minor. 

“This leaves potentially irritating urine residue on the skin,” McGowan stresses. 

For best results, a skin protectant or barrier containing dimethicone or petrolatum should be applied. This should be done without fail after every incontinence episode, explains Beth Young, BSN, RN, CIC, clinical consultant for GOJO Industries Inc.