Evaluation of the outcomes of care of nurse-led continence care clinics for Chinese patients with lower urinary tract symptoms, a 2-year prospective longitudinal study

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 24-month outcomes of a nurse-led continence care service for Chinese primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms. Background: Most studies evaluating the outcomes of continence care services have had short follow-up durations with limited knowledge on whether benefits are sustained beyond 12Â months. Design: Twenty-four month cohort study. Methods: Two comparison groups were recruited: (1) Patients with lower urinary tract symptoms attending a nurse-led community-based continence care programme; (2) Primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms identified by screening, receiving usual medical care. Self-reported symptom severity, health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception were measured at baseline and 24Â months. Data collection occurred from March 2013â August 2015. Results: Baseline and 24-month data were available for 170 continence care and 158 usual care subjects. After controlling for baseline characteristics, the continence care group was observed to have greater reductions in symptom severity and larger improvements in disease-specific health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception than the usual care group. Deterioration in the mental components of generic health-related quality of life was observed in the usual care group, but not in the continence care group. Conclusion: Over 24Â months, when compared with usual medical care, nurse-led continence care services were effective in reducing symptom severity and improving health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception and provided protection against deterioration in the mental components of health-related quality of life in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.postprin

The effectiveness of nurse-led continence care services for primary care patients with LUTS

Free Paper Competition – Abstracts of Poster Presentation - Poster Presentation no. 20INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a primary care nurse-led continence care service for adult patients with LUTS. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted. An intervention group of 360 primary care patients enrolled into the Nurse and Allied Health Clinic (NAHC) Continence Care services of the Hospital Authority were recruited by consecutive sampling. Patients enrolled in the programme received an initial assessment such as uroflowmetry, pelvic floor muscle strength and post-void residual urine estimation. Subsequent interventions were protocol-based and included conservative measures which were tailored to each patient according to the type of LUTS being experienced. Interventions included pelvic floor muscle exercise, diet modification, bladder training and urethral massage for male patients. A control group of 360 primary care patients with LUTS identified by screening were recruited from the waiting rooms of General Out-patient Clinics. Both groups were monitored at baseline and at 12 months. Outcome measures included International Prostate Symptom Score, Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7, Patient Enablement Instrument and Global Rating of Change Scale. RESULTS: Independent t-test showed that, at 12 months, the intervention group had greater improvements in LUTS severity (P<0.05) and HRQOL (P<0.05) than the controls. Chi-square test showed that a higher proportion of the intervention group subjects reported increased self-efficacy (43.48% vs. 66.83%, P<0.05) and improved general health (17.74% vs. 41.5%, P<0.05). DISCUSSION: Our findings support that the NAHC Continence Care services are effective in alleviating symptoms, improve HRQOL, and enhancing self-efficacy and general health in patients with LUTS