Urinary incontinence in nursing home residents with dementia: the mobility-cognition paradigm

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate patient factors associated with urinary incontinence in nursing homes to identify the relative importance of these factors in predicting urinary incontinence. Cognitive ability and patient mobility were measured for 61 patients residing in a nursing home. Twenty-nine of the patients were incontinent and 32 continent. Cognitive ability and mobility were found to differ significantly between continent and incontinent patients. When the variables were examined together, mobility emerged as the best predictor of the patient's urine control, followed by cognitive impairment. The findings highlight the importance of addressing patient mobility issues when dealing with urinary incontinence in nursing homes.