Future directions for incontinence research with frail elders

The most vulnerable older adults are often referred to as the frail elderly. There is a high prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in this population, yet there is little research to guide nurses in providing effective continence care to this vulnerable group of elders.

To summarize current knowledge on UI in frail older adults and suggest future areas for research in this population.

Existing literature about UI in the frail elderly was analyzed to generate a plan for future research.

Gaps exist in the knowledge base needed to guide the nursing care of incontinent frail elders in the following areas: effectiveness of interventions, caregiver characteristics and management models, prevalence, risk factors, and reliability and validity of outcome measures. There are barriers to conducting research in long-term care settings.

Despite the challenges inherent in doing research with incontinent frail elders, there is an urgent need for research to guide the nursing care of this population in all healthcare settings.