Welcome to Module 7

7.1

In this video, Professor Jo Booth welcomes you to module 7. You have spent the past six modules learning about how to promote and maintain good bladder and bowel health through understanding how the bladder and bowel work, the causes of urinary and faecal incontinence and options for improving or curing symptoms.

All this enables you to carry out a comprehensive, holistic assessment and treatment.

What are the consequences of not carrying out a comprehensive, holistic assessment?

We know that, although there are pockets of good practice everywhere, a large number of people in hospital are encouraged to wear containment products ‘just in case’ they leak, which can lead to a reliance on products and a loss of confidence in their ability to remain dry, or unsoiled without them.

We also know that there is a high usage of containment products in the community, within care homes and in home care, especially where there has not been a comprehensive continence assessment completed. People routinely buy their own containment products to avoid the embarrassment of admitting they have a problem and/or in the belief that nothing can be done.

The Continence Paradigm has demonstrated that generally we are good at containing incontinence, but there needs to be a shift towards always supporting individuals to remain continent first, before we consider using products to contain leakage. As we have seen in the previous sessions promoting continence involves behavioural treatment, toileting assistance and/or use of medication.

In this final module we will tackle some of the ‘containment’ issues head on and encourage you to discuss and reflect for yourself, formulating your own clear arguments for promotion of continence and using containment as a temporary or absolute last option.

Don’t forget to capture your thinking in your learning log or portfolio as you work through this module’s content.