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Extra time for quality care with digital continence care AUTHOR Susanne B. Andersen, Project Manager Nurse Continence care is an essential part of the daily routines in care institutions. Not only is continence care time- consuming, it is not unusual that changes, leakages, and other tasks related to continence care take up about 80 minutes per resident per day. What if some of this time could be used for other care activities, and the hours spent on manual checks or changes of bedding and clothing could be more or less eliminated? Less skin irritation and UTIs Experiences with digital continence care have shown that the number of residents suffering from different types of continence-related skin irritation or UTIs (urinary tract infections) can be reduced. The increased time in a dry product improves the health and well-being of the residents, and saves time previously used for extra skin care. According to thorough testing of ABENA Nova with MediSens, digital continence care saves time, reduces the workload, and frees up time for more quality time with the residents. This paper elaborates on the opportunities of digital continence care based on the practical experiences from several care institutions that have tested and implemented ABENA Nova with MediSens. A good night’s sleep and right sized products The digital continence products eliminate unnecessary checks and changes during the night, ensuring that residents get a good night’s sleep without disturbances. At the same time, the digital aids help caregivers select the right sized products during day and night adjusted for individual needs as regards choice of clothing, freedom of movement, urination patterns, etc. The benefits of digital continence care There is a growing interest in digital care solutions that can help ease daily caring tasks and free up time and resources for more quality time with residents. Digital continence care can relieve some of the physical strain of daily work, free up time for other care tasks, and provide valuable insights on good continence care. Digital continence care offers a number of benefits: More quality time with the residents ABENA Nova has been proven to save on average 39 minutes per day per user. This time can be spent on more quality time with the residents. Furthermore, digital solutions enable caregivers to provide effective and discreet continence care, which leads to improved well- being of the residents. Less stress and strain in daily work The automatic tracking of saturation levels enables caregivers to take timely action, preventing leakages and time-consuming and straining changes of clothing and bedding. Changings can be planned to fit both resident and caregiver. This optimized changing process may reduce the number of conflicts with residents, who are displeased with the whole process of having to change clothes or bedding. Planning of good continence care from day one Digital continence care optimizes the daily routines, but it is also a valuable tool when new residents arrive. The digital aid tracks urination patterns, and this information can be used to quickly set up personalized care routines, including good toileting habits. Personalized care, no leakages Digital solutions allow caregivers to deviate from fixed changing rounds, replacing these with personalized continence care adapted to the individual’s urination and sleep patterns. Manual checks are no longer necessary and leakage episodes are reduced, allowing a more dignified and discreet care. A chance to discuss and renew continence practices Digital continence care provides new perspectives on daily practices and requires new ways of working. Instead of routine actions, the new practices stimulate dialogue in the team and with residents and their families – a chance for improvement and uniting around the best possible care solution. 2020 2 of 4 Caregiver
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Unique results have been demonstrated through case studies* “With the app we always have a good feeling of when the resident’s incontinence product needs to be changed. Now the staff can spend their time on something other than looking in their diaper.” Betina Schluter Schrøder, Manager at Lergården, Denmark. 39 minutes saved time per user/day 57% reduction in leakages 84% reduction in manual checks 28% reduction in number of changes *The digital incontinence product ABENA Nova with MediSens has been tested in nursing homes and specialty care institutions in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, USA, and Denmark. The figures above are average results from these case studies. Average results from case studies, Europe 2018-19 “We are really pleased that we can now provide even better care for our residents. Before, we were often pressed for time. Now, ABENA Nova gives us the extra minutes that we can invest in the residents’ well-being. It is a win-win for everybody.” Silke Girke, Manager at the Waldblick nursing home, Eppingen, Germany. “Gaining insight into the urinating patterns during the day can help residents go to the toilet when they want, and it gives timely information to the care workers about time for changes. This prevents unnecessary changes, which may strain residents and care workers, and it helps caregivers to save time.” Feedback from caregivers at two psychogeriatric departments at the Evean Oostergouw care facility in the Netherlands. A truly personalized approach No two people are alike. Differences in age, personality, life style and physical condition call for a personalized approach to continence care. For residents, relatives, caregivers and incontinence product manufacturers the goal is always the same: to find the optimum solution, which can provide a more dignified care and improve the quality of life for people suffering from incontinence. Achieving this goal is not easy, but the new digital continence solutions pave the way for truly personalized care without compromising best practice continence care principles. Derived from decades of incontinence product development and close cooperation with care facilities, ABENA advocates five principles of good continence care aided by digital products: 1.Select the incontinence product as small as possible but as large as necessary for the individual user. ABENA Nova comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and the digital product range is constantly being expanded. 2.Maintain normal fluid intake, unless restricted for medical reasons. The digital products help measure urination patterns, which makes it possible to establish good toileting habits. 3.Maintain good toileting habits. It is normal to go to the toilet every 3-4 hours during daytime, and the frequency of toilet visits should remain unchanged with the digital products. The urination patterns detected by the digital device makes it easier to plan visits to the toilet according to individual needs. 4.A good night’s sleep should be prioritized. The digital product prevents unnecessary check-ups and changes during the night. 5.When changing incontinence products, the skin needs to be cleansed, dried and cared for with skin care products. The digital monitoring of saturation levels makes it possible to perform timely changes, reducing the risk of skin irritation, IAD and UTIs, and improving residents’ health. 2020 3 of 4 Caregiver
