Ansatte pa sykehus sine holdninger til eldre pasienter med urininkontinens

Abstract

Staff members meet urinary incontinence (UI) among elderly in their daily practice. It is documented that knowledge about UI contains misunderstandings. The aim of this study was to get insight in staff's attitudes towards elderly patients with UI. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were included. Focus group interviews were used in the qualitative part. One group of six registered nurses and one group of six nursing assistants (one-year education), working in an elderly care setting in hospital, were included. The transcribed interviews were analysed and the data systematized and categorized before interpretation. The quantitative part is not described in this article.Results show that even though staff intended to take care of patients with UI and treat them with respect, UI was not considered specifically. One reason for this was a lack of consciousness because UI problems were trivial. Medical oriented diagnosis were given higher priority and there was a severe lack of knowledge among staff members of UI. Patients were not asked by the staff about their own reactions related to their UI.However, staff members were able to question their own practice and they claimed that the present study stimulated them to be more conscious about the patients' UI.