Cost effectiveness of training incontinent elderly in nursing homes: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

This study used a randomized clinical trial with 133 incontinent elderly in seven nursing homes to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioral training therapy and its cost implications. The training program lasted three months, and a 22-week follow-up period examined the durability of the treatment effect. The therapy became effective after six weeks of training. By the final months of training, the treatment participants' wet episodes had been reduced by 0.6 episode per day, or a 26 percent reduction over baseline, and improvement was maintained during the follow-up period. Trainees with a high frequency of incontinence during baseline, relatively more cognitive residents, and residents with a normal bladder capacity responded better to this behavioral program. The cost of training was the equivalent of about one hour of nursing aide time per patient day. The reduction in incontinence during the follow-up period resulted in some small savings in laundry costs and supplies used, and some quantitatively unmeasurable but detectable improvement in psychosocial well-being among the trainees. Since the central figure in implementing this training protocol is the nursing aide, it is important to find an organizational management scheme that will stimulate nursing aides to reduce incontinence among nursing home residents.