The nursing management of urinary incontinence in male elderly patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was meant to be that of a study investigating the nursing management of urinary incontinence in male elderly patients over the age of 65 in four general medical wards at St Luke's Hospital. The main question behind this pilot study was - how are incontinent patients managed from a nursing point of view? The method used to investigate this problem area was that of a questionnaire which was given to thirty nurses working on such wards. In reality, the results obtained did not give the anticipated results, so a large part of the study explores possible reasons for this. This study includes a critique of the questionnaire used and points out the perils of this method of obtaining data. All the other methods had their drawbacks and it was very difficult to choose an appropriate tool for this study. In the future, it would be necessary to redesign this questionnaire with the aim of studying a yet narrower aspect of nursing management of urinary incontinence.