Skip to main navigationSkip to main content
The University of Southampton
Fundamental Care

Bladder & Bowel Management

Our mission is to improve the lives of people living with bladder and bowel leakage (incontinence) and urine retention problems. We carry out collaborative and multidisciplinary research with outcomes that have maximum impact on patients by influencing policy and changing practise throughout the UK and internationally. Our research focuses on developing and evaluating sustainable technologies and strategies designed to contain or drain urine/faeces and minimise infection in order to improve quality of life for people living with bladder and bowel problems (led by Mandy Fader). The experience of end users is at the heart of our work and product users and informal carers are involved at all stages. We have strong established collaborations in the UK and worldwide with consumer and professional groups, condition-specific charities, industry and many academic groups.

Continence Technology Theme
Continence Technology

Our research encompasses a wide range of disciplines/methods:

1.Development of evidence-based information and resources for people with incontinence and specific clinical groups: including the Continence Product Advisor website (led by Mandy Fader and Margaret Macaulay), a Product Decision Aid and resources for people with dementia and their carers (led by Catherine Murphy) and men preparing for incontinence related to prostate cancer (led by Margaret Macaulay)

2.Development of prototype products and evidence-based interventions for:
a) Incontinence and bladder and bowel management including:

  • New cleaning methods to enable the reuse of intermittent urinary catheters (Multicath led by Mandy Fader and Margaret Macaulay; JVS led by Sandra Wilks);
  • Prototype penile compression device (led by Mandy Fader) in collaboration with colleagues researching skin interfaces and soft tissue biomechanics (the Skin Health Group led by Dan Bader and Peter Worsley) and engineers (Alex Dickinson)

b) Prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection including:

  • Laboratory-based study of catheters and biofilms (led by Sandra Wilks and Bill Keevil)
  • Evaluation of clinical methods for minimisation of catheter use and reduction of infection in acute care (led by Jacqui Prieto)

c) Cell biology, in particular urine and bladder pathologies (led by Bashir Lwaleed).

3.Clinical trials of products or interventions including the evaluation by users of a wide range of existing and new technologies such as pads, urinals and male devices (led by Mandy Fader); catheter related research focussing on the potential for re-use of intermittent urinary catheters (led by Mandy Fader and Margaret Macaulay) and catheter devices used by long-term catheters users in the community (led by Sandra Wilks and Catherine Murphy).

External Collaborators

  • Omar Abdelwahab - Clinical Lecturer, Human Anatomy and Embryology
  • Miriam Avery - Senior Research Nurse (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust) 
  • Bridget Clancy - Senior Research Nurse (University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust) 
  • Chris de Laine Independent - Clinical Nurse Specialist  
  • Kamaluddeen Garba - Lecturer in Pharmacology and Therapeutics 
  • Muhammadbukhoree Yusuh - Lecturer, Anatomy and Physiology
  • Alan Cottenden -  Emeritus Professor of Continence Technology, UCL
  • Brian Buckley -  Independent Health Service Researcher, Honorary Clinical Fellow, National University of Ireland
  • James Malone-Lee - Emeritus Professor of Medicine, UCL
  • Katherine Moore - Emeritus professor of Nursing, University of Alberta

Academic groups

Industry

Professional & consumer organisations

Media

16 April 2021

Bladder & Bowel Management Group is deligh...

The conference is hosted by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers...

Read More
15 April 2021

Cambodian study assesses 3D scanning techn...

Cutting-edge 3D scanners have been put to the test by researchers f...

Read More
31 March 2021

Bladder & Bowel Management research group ...

Sandra Wilks, Microbiologist and Margaret Macaulay, Senior Research...

Read More

Key Publications

Share this research area Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on Weibo
Privacy Settings