Family Caregiving and Incontinence -Blog Overview
by Catherine D'Ambrosio, RN, PhD dambrosi@uw.edu
It is important to note that incontinence is NOT a normal part of aging. All incontinence needs to be evaluated by a qualified health practitioner.
Family caregivers provide the bulk of long term care to American elders. The care required is becoming increasingly complex and the duration of time the care is needed is often indefinite, lasting a decade or more. Family caregivers must typically provide this (sometimes advanced and complex nursing) care to their elders without support or guidance from professional nurses. Physicians -while accessible, are not typically brimming with help or support to guide your family caregiving efforts to support your elder's toileting continence.
Incontinence is the single biggest reason family caregivers decide to place their elder in an institution. Many family members want to avoid nursing home placement of their elder -at all costs. Many families cannot afford to place their elder in a nursing home and do not yet qualify for Medicaid. Many other families cannot find an acceptable facility -one they would be willing to trust. Still others cannot find an available bed in their (geographic) location.
I have been a registered nurse since 1983. I have advanced degrees in nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing). This blog and its entries are dedicated to the needs of family caregivers who are confronting and dealing with the complex nursing care issues around incontinence in their elderly family member.
This blog site will address 9 areas around incontinence care, including:
- Detailed steps to preventing incontinence episodes through the use of a behavioral technique called "Prompted Voiding" (referencing: Schnelle, Ouslander, Hu, et al).
- Specific ways you can individualize "Prompted Voiding" to your elder's individual needs and your specific capabilities.
- Provides guidelines for identifying what kind of cognitive and mobility assistance your elder might require to support their toileting continence.
- Safety Issues: Provides tips for minimizing the probability your elder will fall on their way to the toilet or be rendered helpless or incommunicado if they do fall.
- Steps you can take to minimize the impact of incontinent episodes on you, your elder, and the entire family.
- Provides tips and guidelines for *Building a Family Caregiving Team* to help you provide the care your elder requires. Caregiving can be an incredibly isolating experience. The caregiver is vulnerable to neglecting their own needs and becoming disabled themselves, even dying. Building a team of people to help you can be the key to your survival through this ordeal.
- Strategies for addressing common interpersonal problems that often accompany incontinence, including: frustration, anger, rage, violence (either to or from the elder), emotional abuse, neglect (of yourself or your elder -or both), social isolation, and depression.
- Tips on knowing when it is time to consider institutionalization (nursing home placement) of your elder. What are the signs and what are the factors you might want to consider.
- I will also review what I see as the inevitable solution to the problem of incontinence care and family caregiving: Personal Nursing Care Robots designed to assist elders to maintain the highest level of toileting function and independence possible -in the privacy of their own home, allowing elders to age with grace and dignity -without bankrupting themselves, their family, or future generations of tax payers.
Welcome to my blog! I look forward to hearing your feedback about what you find helpful and areas where you disagree.
Many thanks for stopping-by. I wish you the very best of luck and love in providing care to your elder. I sincerely hope the information in this blog is helpful to you!
Kind regards,
Catherine
