Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
Urinary Incontinence in Community Dwelling Post Menopausal Women: A Community-University Partnership for Home Care Management
Susan Lombardo, PhD, RN, Nursing, University at Buffalo, The State of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA and Marsha Marecki, EdD, WHNP-C, School of Nursing, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
| Learning Objective #1: Identify common emotional reactions affecting Quality of Life in community dwelling Post Menopausal Women with urinary incontinence. |
| Learning Objective #2: Develop a comprehensive home care program which includes caregiving, and homeopathic and behavioral training measures in the treatment of urinary incontinence. |
The primary objective of this project is to provide a professional clinical nursing seminar/workshop to serve as a vehicle for education and training for graduate nurse practitioner students, community home care nurses, and physical therapists in the focus area of urinary incontinence in women. Urinary incontinence is a major, often chronic, and often underreported women’s health issue which creates a social or hygienic problem. The prevalence of urinary incontinence in women ranges from 10% to 25% and in people over the age of 65 years, 20% are incontinent.
An objective of Health People 2010 for assessment, counseling, and referrals by home care nurses is to increase the proportion of primary care providers who routinely evaluate, treat, and if appropriate refer their long term patients to subacute and rehabilitative and other services to address urinary incontinence, among other identified chronic conditions.
It is crucial that education information in programs at the university provide student exposure to this timely topic in women, especially in our aging population. The primary purpose of this project, the following additional objectives emerge:
- To provide an opportunity for a collaborative educational partnership among graduate nursing university students and community home care nurses/physical therapist.
- To provide a forum for discussion regarding women’s health issues, specifically urinary incontinence and;
- To increase knowledge of causes, contributing factors and current treatment of urinary incontinence in women who receive home care services.
The proposed program will be a framework leading to a long term objective focusing on research in the area of urinary incontinence in women. This proposed program will serve as a model for future clinical trials in implementing a home care program for women who deal with urinary incontinence.