Improving Practice for Urinary Continence Care on Adult Acute Medical and Rehabilitation Wards: A Multi-Site, Co-Created Implementation Study.

Many adult inpatients experience urinary continence issues; however, we lack evidence on effective interventions for inpatient continence care. We conducted a before and after implementation study. We implemented our guideline-based intervention using strategies targeting identified barriers and evaluated the impact on urinary continence care provided by inpatient clinicians. Fifteen wards (acute = 3, rehabilitation = 7, acute and rehabilitation = 5) at 12 hospitals (metropolitan = 4, regional = 8) participated. We screened 2298 consecutive adult medical records for evidence of urinary continence symptoms over three 3-month periods: before implementation (T0: n = 849), after the 6-month implementation period (T1: n = 740), and after a 6-month maintenance period (T2: n = 709). The records of symptomatic inpatients were audited for continence assessment, diagnosis, and management plans. All wards contributed data at T0, and 11/15 wards contributed at T1 and T2 (dropouts due to COVID-19). Approximately 26% of stroke, 33% acute medical, and 50% of rehabilitation inpatients were symptomatic. The proportions of symptomatic patients (T0: n = 283, T1: n = 241, T2: n = 256) receiving recommended care were: assessment T0 = 38%, T1 = 63%, T2 = 68%; diagnosis T0 = 30%, T1 = 70%, T2 = 71%; management plan T0 = 7%, T1 = 24%, T2 = 24%. Overall, there were 4-fold increased odds for receiving assessments and management plans and 6-fold greater odds for diagnosis. These improvements were sustained at T2. This intervention has improved inpatient continence care.

Improving Assessment, Diagnosis, and Management of Urinary Incontinence and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms on Acute and Rehabilitation Wards That Admit Adult Patients: Protocol for a Before-and-After Implementation Study.

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence (UI) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are commonly experienced by adult patients in hospitals (inpatients). Although peak bodies recommend that health services have systems for optimal UI and LUTS care, they are often not delivered. For example, results from the 2017 Australian National Stroke Audit Acute Services indicated that of the one-third of acute stroke inpatients with UI, only 18% received a management plan. In the 2018 Australian National Stroke Audit Rehabilitation Services, half of the 41% of patients with UI received a management plan. There is little reporting of effective inpatient interventions to systematically deliver optimal UI/LUTS care. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine whether our UI/LUTS practice-change package is feasible and effective for delivering optimal UI/LUTS care in an inpatient setting. The package includes our intervention that has been synthesized from the best-available evidence on UI/LUTS care and a theoretically informed implementation strategy targeting identified barriers and enablers. The package is targeted at clinicians working in the participating wards. METHODS: This is a pragmatic, real-world, before- and after-implementation study conducted at 12 hospitals (15 wards: 7/15, 47% metropolitan, 8/15, 53% regional) in Australia. Data will be collected at 3 time points: before implementation (T0), immediately after the 6-month implementation period (T1), and again after a 6-month maintenance period (T2). We will undertake medical record audits to determine any change in the proportion of inpatients receiving optimal UI/LUTS care, including assessment, diagnosis, and management plans. Potential economic implications (cost and consequences) for hospitals implementing our intervention will be determined. RESULTS: This study was approved by the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee (HNEHREC Reference No. 18/10/17/4.02). Preimplementation data collection (T0) was completed in March 2020. As of November 2020, 87% (13/15) wards have completed implementation and are undertaking postimplementation data collection (T1). CONCLUSIONS: Our practice-change package is designed to reduce the current inpatient UI/LUTS evidence-based practice gap, such as those identified through national stroke audits. This study has been designed to provide clinicians, managers, and policy makers with the evidence needed to assess the potential benefit of further wide-scale implementation of our practice-change package. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/22902.

Enhancing inpatient rehabilitation through the engagement of patients and nurses.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to describe nurses' knowledge, experiences and perceptions of a rehabilitation nursing practice development project conducted in their workplace. BACKGROUND: Several studies over the past two decades have led to increasing clarity about the nursing role in rehabilitation. Practice development is a useful vehicle for using the findings of such studies to enhance person-centred practice in rehabilitation settings. METHOD: This qualitative study, in which grounded theory informed data collection and analysis, involved interviews with 21 nurses working in an inpatient rehabilitation unit in Australia about their knowledge, experiences and perceptions of a rehabilitation nursing practice development project conducted in their workplace. The three rounds of interviews were conducted as follows: 1) December 2005-January 2006; 2) June-July 2006; and 3) October 2006. FINDINGS: Practice development was an effective vehicle for developing rehabilitation nursing practice. While collaboration and leadership were critical to the effectiveness of the project, the use of a clinically credible practice development facilitator and a focus on the development of collective nursing practice also seem to have been important. Through the introduction of new activities, both patient and nurse engagement in rehabilitation was enhanced and, as a consequence, the nurses developed a deeper appreciation of their role in rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Carefully and collaboratively designed and sensitively implemented work-based practice development initiatives can change the context and culture of inpatient care. The use of a facilitator with relevant clinical nursing expertise to engage staff individually and collectively with research findings and to reflect on their practice and skill development is worth exploring in similar initiatives.

The experiences of adults with cerebral palsy during periods of hospitalisation.

People with cerebral palsy may have a range of disabilities that can result in daily dependence on others to meet some or all of their basic and more complex care needs. The aim of this New South Wales research was to examine the experiences of adults with cerebral palsy during inpatient admission to a number of public hospitals. A self-selected sample of 31 adults with cerebral palsy completed a questionnaire that collected information related to their disability-specific needs and how well these were addressed by nursing staff during admissions to hospitals. Analysis of the data revealed that many respondents felt hospital staff had limited knowledge and skills of caring for people with cerebral palsy, resulting in their basic care needs not being adequately addressed during periods of hospitalisation. Changes in nursing assessment, continuing education and discharge planning are recommended to address these issues.