Promoting healthy bladder habits for seniors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Health Promotion

Background:

• Urinary incontinence (UI) disproportionately affects the elderly population.
• A significant knowledge gap exists regarding UI and healthy bladder habits among seniors.
• Inner-city senior centers serve a population highly susceptible to UI and lacking adequate information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a health promotion project addressing UI in an elderly, minority, inner-city population.
• To improve knowledge and self-management of bladder health among senior participants.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-phase educational intervention.

Main Methods:

• A three-phase project involving staff/peer educator training, weekly educational sessions for seniors with visual aids and bladder records, and follow-up reinforcement.
• Implementation across six ethnically diverse, inner-city senior centers.
• Utilized quizzes and bladder record completion to assess knowledge and behavior.

Main Results:

• The program was well-received, with approximately 80% of participants reporting increased bladder control by the final session.
• Training for peer educators required refinement for optimal engagement throughout the program.
• The project identified a need to incorporate men's prostate health and women's gynecological health in future iterations.

Conclusions:

• The health promotion project effectively enhanced participants' sense of bladder control and knowledge.
• Peer educator roles need further development for sustained program impact.
• Future programming should expand to include broader men's and women's health topics relevant to seniors.