Technology for managing incontinence: What are the research priorities?

Incontinence and toileting difficulties can often be successfully addressed by treating their underlying causes. However, (complete) cure is not always possible and continence products to prevent or contain unresolved leakage or to facilitate toileting are in widespread use. Many people use them successfully but identifying the product(s) most likely to meet individual needs can be challenging and the recently published Seventh International Consultation on Incontinence includes a chapter which draws on the literature to provide evidence-based recommendations to help clinicians and product users to select appropriate products. This paper is based on the same evidence, but reviewed from the different perspective of those keen to identify unmet needs and develop improved products. For each of the main continence product categories it (i) outlines the design approach and key features of what is currently available; (ii) provides a generic functional design specification; (iii) reviews how well existing products meet the requirements of their main user groups; and (iv) suggests priorities for the attention of product designers. It also flags some core scientific problems which - if successfully addressed - would likely yield benefits in multiple incontinence product contexts.

Development and Evaluation of a Wearable Simulator System.

Background: Peer physical examination is a clinical teaching-learning approach used for decades because of the convenient sample of peers for practicing. However, this approach has limitations when learning to assess abnormalities and threatens psychologically safe learning. A wearable simulator system was designed for learning physical examination skills to minimize ethical and learning challenges. Sample: The sample consisted of fifty prelicensure nursing students and ten faculty in an upper Midwest university. Method: The wearable simulator was constructed into a vest with RFID tags and ribcage landmarks. An observational, evaluative design was used for participants to rate seven categories during a one-hour evaluation session of the wearable simulator worn by a standardized patient trained to portray an individual with pneumonia. Results: Satisfaction was rated highly among participants. More than 80% of student participants indicated the wearable simulator promotes privacy and reduces embarrassment. Conclusion: The wearable simulator system offers a promising teaching-learning alternative with scenario-specific auscultation and palpation feedback to provide a safe, repeatable, and consistent simulation experience.

Current Perspectives on Pressure Injuries in Persons with Dark Skin Tones from the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel.

BACKGROUND: Pressure injury (PI) development is multifactorial. In patients with dark skin tones, identifying impending PIs by visual skin assessment can be especially challenging. The need for improved skin assessment techniques, especially for persons with dark skin tones, continues to increase. Similarly, greater awareness of the need for inclusivity with regard to representation of diverse skin colors/tones in education materials is apparent. OBJECTIVE: To provide current perspectives from the literature surrounding skin assessment and PI development in patients with dark skin tones. METHODS: The following elements will be discussed through the lens of skin tone: (1) historical perspectives of PI staging from the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, (2) epidemiology of PI, (3) anatomy and physiology of the skin, (3) skin tone assessment and measurement, (4) augmented visual assessment modalities, (5) PI prevention, (6) PI healing, (7) social determinants of health, and (8) gaps in clinician education. CONCLUSIONS: This article highlights the gap in our clinical knowledge regarding PIs in patients with dark skin tones. Racial disparities with regard to PI development and healing are especially clear among patients with dark skin tones. Skin tone color assessment must be standardized and quantifiable in clinical education, practice, and research. This work is urgently needed, and support from private and governmental agencies is essential.

Moisture-Associated Skin Damage: Expanding Practice Based on the Newest ICD-10-CM Codes for Irritant Contact Dermatitis Associated With Digestive Secretions and Fecal or Urinary Effluent From an Abdominal Stoma or Enterocutaneous Fistula.

Moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) occurs when skin is repeatedly exposed to various sources of bodily secretions or effluents, often leading to irritant contact dermatitis, characterized by inflammation with or without denudation of affected skin. In 2020, the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society commissioned an initiative that led to the addition of multiple International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes (ICD-10-CM) for irritant contact dermatitis caused by various forms of MASD for use in the United States. In a recent issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, a clinical practice alert identifying the various new codes was published that summarized each of the new codes and provided highlights of the descriptions for each of these codes. This is the second in a series of 2 follow-up articles providing a more detailed description of the MASD conditions to which the newest irritant contact dermatitis ICD-10-CM codes apply. Specifically, this article reviews the clinical manifestations and assessment, pathophysiology, epidemiology, prevention, and management of irritant contact dermatitis associated with digestive secretions from a stoma or fistula, and fecal or urinary effluent from an abdominal stoma or enterocutaneous fistula.

Rapid priority setting exercise on faecal incontinence for Cochrane Incontinence.

OBJECTIVE: This rapid priority setting exercise aimed to identify, expand, prioritise and explore stakeholder (patients, carers and healthcare practitioners) topic uncertainties on faecal incontinence (FI). DESIGN: An evidence gap map (EGM) was produced to give a visual overview of emerging trial evidence; existing systematic review-level evidence and FI stakeholder topic uncertainties derived from a survey. This EGM was used in a knowledge exchange workshop that promoted group discussions leading to the prioritisation and exploration of FI stakeholder identified topic uncertainties. RESULTS: Overall, a mismatch between the existing and emerging evidence and key FI stakeholder topic uncertainties was found. The prioritised topic uncertainties identified in the workshop were as follows: psychological support; lifestyle interventions; long-term effects of living with FI; education; constipation and the cultural impact of FI. When these six prioritised topic uncertainties were explored in more depth, the following themes were identified: education; impact and burden of living with FI; psychological support; healthcare service improvements and inconsistencies; the stigma of FI; treatments and management; culturally appropriate management and technology and its accessibility. CONCLUSIONS: Topic uncertainties identified were broad and wide ranging even after prioritisation. More research is required to unpick the themes emerging from the in-depth discussion and explore these further to achieve a consensus on deliverable research questions.

Projected Augmented Reality (P-AR) for Enhancing Nursing Education About Pressure Injury: A Pilot Evaluation Study.

PURPOSE: To describe results of a study evaluating a Projected Augmented Reality (P-AR) system for its potential to enhance nursing education about pressure injuries. DESIGN: Pilot evaluation survey. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: The sample comprised nursing students and faculty at a school of nursing in a large, Midwestern public university. A total of 32 participants, which included 27 students (30% BSN, 44% MN, and 26% DNP students; 81% female) and 5 faculty members (80% female) participated. METHODS: The P-AR system was prototyped using commercial-off-the-shelf components and software algorithms, applied to pressure injury nursing education content. After interaction with the P-AR system, participants completed a survey evaluating the following features of the P-AR system for potential: engagement, effectiveness, usefulness, user-friendliness, and realism, and users' overall impression and satisfaction with system features. Evaluation statements used a 5-level Likert-scale; open-ended questions about what was liked, disliked, or anything else offered opportunity for comments. RESULTS: Student and faculty median evaluation scores were 5 (strongly agree or very satisfied) and 4 (agree or satisfied) for nearly all evaluation and satisfaction statements. Students' satisfaction with "realism" received a median score of 3 (neutral). The P-AR system was refined to include realistic still and animated images. CONCLUSION: The P-AR system, an innovative technology using 3-dimensional dynamic images, was applied to nursing education content about pressure injury and was evaluated as having potential to enhance pressure injury teaching and learning. Education about complex processes of pressure injury development and management may benefit from using cutting-edge simulation technologies such as P-AR.

Moisture-Associated Skin Damage: Expanding and Updating Practice Based on the Newest ICD-10-CM Codes.

Moisture-associated skin damage (MASD) occurs when skin is repeatedly exposed to various sources of bodily secretions or effluents, often leading to irritant contact dermatitis with inflammation, with or without denudation of affected skin. In 2020, the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society took an initiative that led to the addition of multiple International Classification for Diseases codes for irritant contract dermatitis caused by various forms of MASD for use in the United States (ICD-10-CM). In the last issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, a clinical practice alert identifying the various new codes was published that summarized each of the new codes and provided highlights of the descriptions of each of the these codes. This is the first in a series of 2 articles providing a more detailed description of the newest irritant contact dermatitis codes linked to MASD. Specifically, this article reviews the clinical manifestations and assessment, pathophysiology, epidemiology, prevention, and management of irritant contact dermatitis due to saliva, respiratory secretions, and fecal or urinary incontinence.

Knowledge Discovery With Machine Learning for Hospital-Acquired Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections.

Massive generation of health-related data has been key in enabling the big data science initiative to gain new insights in healthcare. Nursing can benefit from this era of big data science, as there is a growing need for new discoveries from large quantities of nursing data to provide evidence-based care. However, there are few nursing studies using big data analytics. The purpose of this article is to explain a knowledge discovery and data mining approach that was employed to discover knowledge about hospital-acquired catheter-associated urinary tract infections from multiple data sources, including electronic health records and nurse staffing data. Three different machine learning techniques are described: decision trees, logistic regression, and support vector machines. The decision tree model created rules to interpret relationships among associated factors of hospital-acquired catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The logistic regression model showed what factors were related to a higher risk of hospital-acquired catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The support vector machines model was included to compare performance with the other two interpretable models. This article introduces the examples of cutting-edge machine learning approaches that will advance secondary use of electronic health records and integration of multiple data sources as well as provide evidence necessary to guide nursing professionals in practice.

Public toilets in parklands or open spaces in international cities using geographic information systems.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Availability of public toilets in parklands and open spaces is a community resource for all persons and may support self-management of incontinence. The purpose of this study was to describe and map the availability of public toilets in parklands and open spaces in major international cities by city population and area. METHODS: Observational/descriptive design. Twelve cities in nine countries with available data about toilets in parklands (Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), New York City, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Osaka) or open spaces (Greater London, Greater Sydney, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, and Seoul) were included in the analysis. Data were from online open/free data sets. Availability of publicly owned and/or operated permanent toilet facilities was measured/analyzed as number, density (calculated by population and area (km2)), and distribution (visualized using Geographic Information Systems). RESULTS: Density of public toilets/area (km2) in parklands was highest in Osaka. MSP had the most toilets per 100,000 residents. In open spaces, the density of public toilets/area (km2) was highest in Paris. Sydney had the most toilets in open spaces per 100,000 residents. The distribution of public toilets across parklands was fairly even in MSP, Philadelphia, and Toronto. The distribution of public toilets in open spaces was highly concentrated in one area in Brussels. Sydney has a low population density but a high toilet density in open spaces. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of public toilets in parklands or open spaces varies among international cities. Toilet availability should be considered in urban planning and community healthcare programs to promote continence, health, and quality of life.

Self-management of accidental bowel leakage and interest in a supportive m-Health app among women.

INTRODUCTION: Self-management with clinician guidance is a cornerstone of successful conservative treatment for accidental bowel leakage (ABL). There are currently few resources to assist patients with that essential self-management. The purpose of this study was to describe self-management of ABL and explore interest in a mobile health application (m-Health app) for supporting ABL self-management among community-living women. METHODS: Using an observational/descriptive design, women (18+ years) previously seen in a urogynecology clinic for ABL were mailed a survey containing eight multiple-choice questions and an open-ended prompt for comments. RESULTS: Survey responses were received from 161 women (18% response rate). The highest percentage of participants was aged 61-70 years (39%). Nearly half of the participants (47%) "did not know anything" about ABL self-management before visiting a clinician. Only 4% "knew a lot." Of those who have been trying to self-manage their ABL (n = 132), 37% reported that it was not effective, and only 5% thought their self-management was "very effective." Half (50%) of the participants had "a lot of" interest in an m-Health app to support managing ABL, and 30% had "some" interest. The vast majority (89%) thought that it was "very important" to have ongoing guidance and support for self-managing ABL. CONCLUSIONS: Before visiting a clinician, most women with ABL lacked knowledge about ABL self-management, and their self-management was not very effective. Women thought having guidance to self-manage ABL was important. There would be good interest among women in an m-Health app supporting self-management of ABL if one were created.

Availability of Public Toilets in Parks and Recreational Sites in Selected US Cities.

PURPOSE: The principal aim of this study was to map and describe the availability of parkland public toilets in major US cities per population and area. DESIGN: Observational and descriptive. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Data were collected from the following cities: Austin, Texas; Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP), Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; New York City (NYC), New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California (SFC); Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida. These cities are located throughout the United States. METHODS: Data from the US Census and cities' parks/recreation departments about publicly owned and operated permanent toilet facilities were analyzed and then mapped using geographic information systems. Toilet density by population and residential area (mi) was calculated, and toilet distribution was visualized. RESULTS: When calculated per 100,000 residents, MSP had the most parkland public toilets with 24; Tampa, Seattle, and Philadelphia had 17 to 22; and Nashville, NYC, and SFC had the fewest, around 7 toilets. Parkland public toilet density per residential area was highest in NYC and Philadelphia (>2/mi), followed by MSP, Seattle, and SFC (1/mi), then Tampa, Austin, and Nashville (<1/mi). The proportion of Census tracts containing parkland public toilets was more than 0.4 in MSP, Seattle, Tampa, and Philadelphia, more than 0.20 in Nashville and Austin, and less than 0.20 in the other cities. Toilet mapping showed fairly even distribution across Census tracts in MSP, Seattle, Tampa, and Philadelphia. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of parkland public toilets was highest in MSP and lowest in SFC. Findings inform WOC nurses for counseling incontinent patients about self-management strategies. Urban planning that provides an adequate number and distribution of parkland public toilets may improve quality of life.

The CAUTI Prevention Tool Kit: A Professional Practice and Collaborative Project of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society.

In order to address the need for a tool to support hospital-based nurses in catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) prevention, the American Nurses Association (ANA) was asked to convene a Technical Expert Panel of stakeholders in CAUTI prevention. The Technical Expert Panel was chaired by the ANA's Senior Policy Fellow, a certified wound, ostomy and continence (WOC) nurse. The panel comprised 23 representatives, including nurses from specialty practice organizations, nursing affiliated with the ANA, infection control specialists, patient safety authorities, award-winning hospitals using the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, and content experts. The Wound, Ostomy and Continence Society appointed 2 representatives to this panel, a key nurse researcher with expertise in this area of care and a former Society President. The CAUTI Prevention Tool Kit, combined with supplemental guidance documents developed, supports WOC nurses and Society members in achieving quality clinical outcomes for their patients.

Evaluation of Validity and Reliability of a Revised Incontinence-Associated Skin Damage Severity Instrument (IASD.D.2) by 3 Groups of Nursing Staff.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a revised version of the Incontinence-Associated Skin Damage Severity instrument (IASD.D.2) using 3 different groups of nursing staff. Revisions to the instrument included renumbering 1 body area where incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) occurs into 2 areas (right and left), which raised the total possible score from 52 to 56, and defining the borders of the body areas. DESIGN: Observational, evaluative design. SAMPLE AND SETTING: Five clinical experts certified in wound, ostomy, and/or continence (WOC) nursing evaluated content validity. Evaluators were attendees at the WOC Nurses (WOCN) Society 2014 conference, hospital nurses, and nursing staff at a nursing home. Evaluators were attendees at the WOCN Society's 2014 National Conference, hospital nurses at a community hospital with Magnet designation, and nursing staff at a skilled nursing home in the Midwestern United States. The evaluator group comprised 198 conference attendees (all nurses; age 53 ± 8.2 years, mean ± SD), 67 hospital nurses (age 37 ± 11 years), and 34 nursing home nursing staff (age 45 ±13.8 years). The majority of evaluators (>75%) in each of the groups were female. METHODS: Clinical experts evaluated the content validity of the revised instrument. Evaluators scored 5 to 9 photographic cases using the revised instrument. Four of the cases were scored by all evaluators. The agreement of case scores among all evaluators was analyzed to assess interrater reliability. The scores of evaluators grouped by evaluators' self-identified skin color or nursing experience (<10 years vs ≥10 years) were also tested for differences. To provide evidence for criterion validity, the agreement of evaluators' scores with experts' scores (considered a "gold standard" in this study) was analyzed. RESULTS: The agreement of the IASD.D.2 scores among all evaluators within each group ranged from 0.74 to 0.79, suggesting good interrater reliability. The agreement of each group of evaluators with the experts for all case scores ranged from 0.82 to 0.85, suggesting good criterion validity. There was no significant difference in scores by evaluators' skin color or nursing experience. CONCLUSION: The revised IASD.D.2 has good content and criterion validity and interrater reliability. The instrument has potential to standardize reporting of IAD severity in research and clinical practice and assist communication about IAD among nursing staff.

Factors Associated With Healthcare-Acquired Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections: Analysis Using Multiple Data Sources and Data Mining Techniques.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with healthcare-acquired catheter-associated urinary tract infections (HA-CAUTIs) using multiple data sources and data mining techniques. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Three data sets were integrated for analysis: electronic health record data from a university hospital in the Midwestern United States was combined with staffing and environmental data from the hospital's National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and a list of patients with HA-CAUTIs. METHODS: Three data mining techniques were used for identification of factors associated with HA-CAUTI: decision trees, logistic regression, and support vector machines. RESULTS: Fewer total nursing hours per patient-day, lower percentage of direct care RNs with specialty nursing certification, higher percentage of direct care RNs with associate's degree in nursing, and higher percentage of direct care RNs with BSN, MSN, or doctoral degree are associated with HA-CAUTI occurrence. The results also support the association of the following factors with HA-CAUTI identified by previous studies: female gender; older age (>50 years); longer length of stay; severe underlying disease; glucose lab results (>200 mg/dL); longer use of the catheter; and RN staffing. CONCLUSIONS: Additional findings from this study demonstrated that the presence of more nurses with specialty nursing certifications can reduce HA-CAUTI occurrence. While there may be valid reasons for leaving in a urinary catheter, findings show that having a catheter in for more than 48 hours contributes to HA-CAUTI occurrence. Finally, the findings suggest that more nursing hours per patient-day are related to better patient outcomes.

Time to and predictors of dual incontinence in older nursing home admissions.

AIMS: There are few studies of nursing home residents that have investigated the development of dual incontinence, perhaps the most severe type of incontinence as both urinary and fecal incontinence occur. To determine the time to and predictors of dual incontinence in older nursing home residents. METHODS: Using a cohort design, records of older nursing home admissions who were continent or had only urinary or only fecal incontinence (n = 39,181) were followed forward for report of dual incontinence. Four national US datasets containing potential predictors at multiple levels describing characteristics of nursing home residents, nursing homes (n = 445), and socioeconomic and sociodemographic status of the community surrounding nursing homes were analyzed. A Cox proportional hazard regression with nursing home-specific random effect was used. RESULTS: At 6 months after admission, 28% of nursing home residents developed dual incontinence, at 1 year 42% did so, and at 2 years, 61% had dual incontinence. Significant predictors for time to developing dual incontinence were having urinary incontinence, greater functional or cognitive deficits, more comorbidities, older age, and lesser quality of nursing home care. CONCLUSIONS: The development of dual incontinence is a major problem among nursing home residents. Predictors in this study offer guidance in developing interventions to prevent and reduce the time to developing this problem which may improve the quality of life of nursing residents.

Incontinence Briefs Containing Spiral-Shaped Fiber Acidify Skin pH of Older Nursing Home Residents at Risk for Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis.

PURPOSE: The study's purpose was to assess the pH of the skin of older (aged ≥75 years) incontinent nursing home residents after exposure to an incontinence brief containing spiral-shaped fiber wet with an alkaline solution mimicking urine or fecal pH and compared to skin pH after exposure to an industry standard brief wet with the same solution and various controls. DESIGN: The design was experimental, as conditions were applied to skin and skin pH was measured in random order, and subjects served as their own controls. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: The setting was a Midwestern nonprofit nursing home. The sample was 26 nursing home residents; their mean age was 87 years (SD = 6 years); 77% were female. Most (69%) had urinary incontinence alone, and 31% had dual urinary and fecal incontinence. METHODS: Skin pH was measured in duplicate on 6 areas of the inner thighs and 6 areas of the volar surface of the forearms. Each area was exposed to 1 of 6 conditions applied in random order: an incontinence brief containing spiral-shaped fiber wet with an alkaline solution and one that was dry; a standard incontinence brief (without spiral-shaped fiber) wet with the same alkaline solution and one that was dry; the alkaline solution alone; and normal skin. RESULTS: On both the thighs and the forearms, skin pH was significantly lower (more acidic) after exposure to the incontinence brief containing spiral-shaped fiber wet with an alkaline solution compared to the wet standard brief and all other control conditions (P < .001). On thighs, the mean skin pH was 5.7 (SD = 0.5) after exposure to the wet brief with spiral-shaped fiber versus 6.4 (SD = 0.5) after exposure to the wet standard brief. On forearms, the mean skin pH was 5.3 (SD = 0.4) after exposure to the wet brief with spiral-shaped fiber versus 6.0 (SD = 0.4) after exposure to the wet standard brief. CONCLUSIONS: Incontinence briefs containing a spiral-shaped fiber significantly acidify the pH of the skin exposed to an alkaline solution, while industry standard briefs do not. Since alkaline skin pH is a risk factor for incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), results suggest that briefs with spiral-shaped fiber may help prevent IAD. Findings encourage further research.

Racial and ethnic disparities in the healing of pressure ulcers present at nursing home admission.

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcers increase the risk of costly hospitalization and mortality of nursing home residents, so timely healing is important. Disparities in healthcare have been identified in the nursing home population but little is known about disparities in the healing of pressure ulcers. PURPOSE: To assess racial and ethnic disparities in the healing of pressure ulcers present at nursing home admission. Multi-levels predictors, at the individual resident, nursing home, and community/Census tract level, were examined in three large data sets. METHODS: Minimum Data Set records of older individuals admitted to one of 439 nursing homes of a national, for-profit chain over three years with a stages 2-4 pressure ulcer (n=10,861) were searched to the 90-day assessment for the first record showing pressure ulcer healing. Predictors of pressure ulcer healing were analyzed for White admissions first using logistic regression. The Peters-Belson method was used to assess racial or ethnic disparities among minority group admissions. RESULTS: A significantly smaller proportion of Black nursing home admissions had their pressure ulcer heal than expected had they been part of the White group. There were no disparities in pressure ulcer healing disadvantaging other minority groups. Significant predictors of a nonhealing of pressure ulcer were greater deficits in activities of daily living and pressure ulcer severity. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing disparities in pressure ulcer healing is needed for Blacks admitted to nursing homes. Knowledge of disparities in pressure ulcer healing can direct interventions aiming to achieve equity in healthcare for a growing number of minority nursing home admissions.

Incidence and Predictors of Incontinence-Associated Skin Damage in Nursing Home Residents With New-Onset Incontinence.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) in nursing home residents. METHODS: Records of a cohort of 10,713 elderly (≥65 years) newly incontinent nursing home residents in 448 nursing homes in 28 states free of IAD were followed up for IAD development. Potential multilevel predictors of IAD were identified in 4 national datasets containing information about the characteristics of individual nursing home residents, nursing home care environment, and communities in which the nursing homes were located. A unique set of health practitioner orders provided information about IAD and the predictors of IAD prevention and pressure injuries in the extended perineal area. Analysis was based on hierarchical logistical regression. RESULTS: The incidence of IAD was 5.5%. Significant predictors of IAD were not receiving preventive interventions for IAD, presence of a perineal pressure injury, having greater functional limitations in activities of daily living, more perfusion problems, and lesser cognitive deficits. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the importance of prevention of IAD and treatment/prevention of pressure injuries. A WOC nurse offers expertise in these interventions and can educate staff about IAD predictors, which can improve resident outcomes. Other recommendations include implementing plans of care to improve functional status, treat perfusion problems, and provide assistance with incontinence and skin care to residents with milder as well as greater cognitive deficits.