Elderly toileting: is two hourly too often?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two hourly toileting regimes for the management of urinary incontinence in elderly nursing home residents. A comparison of two hourly regimes with four hourly toileting was undertaken over two eight-week periods to establish the most effective form of continence promotion. No significant difference in the levels of incontinence was noted and the severity of incontinence did not significantly differ between regimes. The author concludes that two hourly regimes are a waste of nurses' time and cause unnecessary discomfort to patients.