Nursing management of urinary incontinence in geriatric inpatients

The management and treatment of incontinence represent two interrelated areas--providing enough providers of care and describing the types of management and treatment options available to the incontinent patient. This article has stressed that adequate staffing underlies any successful program of continence management and treatment. In addition, many options for the management and treatment of incontinence in the elderly have been presented. Of importance are the specific nursing implications that will make many continence protocols successful. These guidelines can provide the basis for planning patient care through the nursing process. This article has also addressed management and treatment strategies for incontinence that not only improve incontinence in patients but may cure it. These include behavioral management strategies which nurses should be encouraged to use in treating incontinent patients in the community. These same behavioral management strategies are being studied in inpatient settings, and the results indicate that nurses in inpatient settings and long-term care facilities should implement behavioral treatment programs for incontinent patients.