Maltese nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices in the management of urinary incontinence in the acute-medical ward setting

Abstract

Nurses' knowledge and attitudes pertaining to urinary incontinence (Ul) tend to influence nursing practice with incontinent patients. Consequently, this study tried to identify Maltese acute-medical-ward-based nurses' knowledge and practices in UI management, and elicit their attitudes towards caring for patients with UI. No attempts were made to identify the relationship between the three variables, but possible links were discussed. A Likert-type questionnaire was administered to a simple random sample of 20 staff and enrolled nurses working in the acute-medical setting to collect quantitative data. Findings suggest that although nurses' attitudes towards the care of patients with UI were positive, several misconceptions about UI and its management prevail. Additionally, UI appears to be frequently managed with adult nappies. Results also indicated that many nurses appear to lack sufficient knowledge on which to base informed nursing practice. Overall, this study has indicated that the management of UI in the acute-medical setting, and nursing education about incontinence seems to require upgrading. This is very important because UI in the acute-medical setting is expensive, places the patient at high risk of various complications, threatens the patient's dignity, and delays discharge.