Project overview
We want to help people with continence problems stay healthy, continue with day-to-day activities and remain independent. Up to seven million people in the UK live with continence (bladder or bowel leakage) problems. Many cannot be cured. Continence problems cause health issues, increase carers' workload and can lead to a move to residential care. Over the last twenty years, research has shown that people living with continence problems are not well supported by the NHS or other services. Little practical help is available and people are often left to find their own solutions. Most people living with continence problems use continence products to cope. There are a wide range of products designed to help manage day-to-day continence or toilet-use problems, such as absorbent pads, bedpans, raised toilet seats, sensors, and urinals. Different products are designed to tackle different problems, for example, they can help keep bodily waste (wee or poo) contained or to help with wiping if hand control is poor or prompt toilet use for someone with memory problems. These products have a very important role, but there are many different types and we do not have a good understanding of 1) the full range of products designed to help different problems, 2) which products work well and are good value for money and 3) where we need more research or new product designs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to find out what products are available to help manage continence problems, what problems they are designed to tackle, how well they work, and whether they are value for money. To do this we will do two reviews of existing literature: Phase 1. First, we will make a complete list of all the continence products people use and map them to the problem that they are designed to solve (including identifying where there are currently no products to help). Phase 2. Secondly, we will assess the evidence on whether or not these different continence products work well and whether they are good value for money. Throughout this project, we will work with stakeholders (people who have experienced continence problems, their carers and other key partners such as service providers, local authorities, nurses, occupational therapists, charities and homecare workers). We will hold three stakeholder events. The first is to plan Phase 1, the second is to discuss the results of Phase 1 and plan Phase 2, and the third is to gather people's views of the findings and next steps. By the end of the study, we will help people straightaway by providing a map of continence problems and how well the products designed to solve those problems work. This will help people (product users, carers and health and social care professionals) to choose the right products for different situations. We will also tell engineers and industry about problems that do not currently have good solutions and where new product designs are urgently needed. We have a lot of experience with researching continence products, including running the Continence Product Advisor website (the only independent, evidence-based website for continence products - endorsed by the NHS). In addition to academic papers and conferences, the findings from this study (including the product map) will be made available for practitioners, care providers and the public via that website and other routes recommended by stakeholders.
