Predictors and profiles of non-invasive management of urinary incontinence in residents living in nursing homes: A decision tree analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and capabilities of nursing home residents with urinary incontinence in relation to urinary incontinence interventions. Materials and methods: A secondary data-analysis on the data from 1417 residents (65 years and above), suffering from urinary incontinence and living in nursing homes and collected by a cross-sectional multi-center point prevalence measurement, the Dutch annual independent (Inter)national Prevalence Measurement of Quality of Care of Maastricht University, was performed. In order to explore the relationship between an urinary incontinence intervention and the predictors diagnosis dementia, body posture, mobility, (un)dressing, hygiene and communication; onset urinary incontinence; frequency, time of loss and quantity urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence, a Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis was performed. Results: The level of care dependency for hygiene is the key variable in predicting the use of an urinary incontinence intervention. The ability to adopt an appropriate body posture, being urinary incontinence prior to admission into a nursing home and being diagnosed with dementia are identified as significant predictors. Residents care independent for hygiene and for adopting an appropriate body posture and urinary incontinence before admission into a nursing home are more likely to use absorbing material. In residents being care dependent for hygiene and for adopting an appropriate body posture and diagnosed with dementia, a combination of absorbing material with toileting or other interventions are mostly applied. Conclusions: Results reveal that residents’ characteristics and capabilities determine the implementation of an urinary incontinence intervention.