Urinary tract infections (UTIs) pose a significant health risk within long-term care (LTC) facilities, contributing substantially to sepsis diagnoses and ranking as a leading cause of infections in these settings. To address incontinence, timed and prompted toileting programs are commonly implemented in LTC. However, the effectiveness of these toileting programs in specifically reducing UTI rates has remained a critical question.
A recent study, grounded in Donabedian’s quality improvement model, investigated the impact of formal toileting programs on UTI incidence in Georgia LTC facilities. The research surveyed directors of nursing across various CMS-regulated LTC facilities in Georgia to determine the prevalence of timed and prompted voiding programs. An independent t-test was then employed to analyze the UTI rates in facilities with and without these programs.
The findings revealed a compelling correlation: LTC facilities that had implemented timed and prompted voiding programs demonstrated a significantly lower rate of UTIs compared to facilities without such programs (p=.002). The study reported a large effect size, underscoring the practical importance of this finding.
This evidence suggests that the adoption of formal Toileting Programs In Long Term Care settings is not only beneficial for managing incontinence but also plays a crucial role in reducing the occurrence of UTIs. By applying these evidence-based incontinence management strategies, LTC facilities can achieve positive social change through improved patient health outcomes and reduced infection rates.
