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Date: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: (301) 594-1364, Karen Migdail x1375, Karen Carp x1378, Salina Prasad x1317
Today there is even more help available for millions of Americans who suffer from urinary incontinence (UI), or the involuntary loss of urine. A new UI treatment guide for caregivers --such as certified nursing assistants in long-term care facilities and home health aides--is now available. This, and a companion piece (the Alert) for directors of nursing to use in training caregivers, are based on a clinical practice guideline sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), released earlier this year.
"We have created a user-friendly tool for caregivers who work directly with residents and patients," said Clifton R. Gaus, Sc.D., AHCPR administrator. "The caregivers are the first ones who can see the problems people are having in staying dry and are the key to making a difference in the quality of residents' lives."
Urinary incontinence is one of the primary contributing reasons that people enter long-term care facilities. Through a partnership with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), the new caregiver guide and Alert were developed and will be disseminated to medical directors and other professionals in long-term care facilities.
"We applaud AHCPR for revising the clinical practice guideline on urinary incontinence and for developing new tools to assist nursing facilities to implement the recommendations," said Paul Willging, Ph.D., executive vice president of AHCA. "The training tools developed by AHCPR give nursing staff practical hands-on guidance for integrating the guideline into their care practices." The new guide also will help caregivers improve the quality of life for persons being cared for at home and in hospitals. Researchers estimate the nation spends at least $16 billion a year to care for people with urinary incontinence, up from $10 billion in 1990. UI is estimated to affect more than 13 million adults--most of them older women--but actual prevalence may be higher because it is widely underreported and underdiagnosed.
"The caregiver guide will make an important contribution to improving the quality of life for so many people suffering needlessly from urinary incontinence," said Lorraine Tarnove, executive director of AMDA. "We are proud to have helped create and to disseminate these documents."
UI has a variety of causes including pelvic muscle instability, as a side effect of medications or caffeine, or other conditions such as a urinary tract infection or constipation. It also can be caused by a lack of mobility or not being able to reach the bathroom. The caregiver guide stresses the need to maintain a regular toileting schedule and provide aids such as walkers and toilet supports to help people get to and use the toilet.
The guide also emphasizes the need for caregivers to communicate with the doctor or nurse what they know about the resident's health and medications. This will help the doctor or nurse determine the underlying cause of UI and develop the treatment plan.
The Alert is designed to be used with the caregiver guide to help train the caregiver in the causes and treatments of UI. It highlights the need for teamwork between the caregiver, director of nursing and other professionals involved in the care of affected persons. The National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration in Long-Term Care is helping to disseminate the caregiver guide and Alert to directors of nursing.
The caregiver guide, Helping People With Incontinence, and the companion piece for directors of nursing, Alert: Establishing, Implementing, and Continuing an Effective Continence Program in a Long-Term Care Facility, are available free of charge from the AHCPR Publications Clearinghouse. Call toll-free 800/358-9295, or write to Urinary Incontinence Update, AHCPR Publications Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907. They also are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through AHCPR InstantFax, 301/594-2800. Also available are the other guideline products: a quick reference guide for clinicians, Managing Acute and Chronic Urinary Incontinence; and consumer guide (available in English or Spanish), Understanding Incontinence. The caregiver guide is being translated into Spanish and will be available later this year.
The full guideline, Urinary Incontinence in Adults: Acute and Chronic Management, as well as all the other guideline products, are available on the Internet through the AHCPR Home Page. Access the guideline by using a Web browser, specifying URL www.ahcpr.gov/guide/ and clicking on "Clinical Practice Guidelines Online." Single and bulk copies may be purchased from the U.S. Government Printing Office by calling 202/512-1800.
The American Health Care Association is a federation of 51 affiliated associations representing more than 11,000 non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility and subacute providers that care for 1 million elderly and disabled individuals nationally. AHCA may be reached by calling 202/8982312.
The American Medical Directors Association is a national professional organization representing physicians who practice in long-term care facilities as medical directors or attending physicians. AMDA may be reached by calling 800/876-2632.