Abstract: Bladder Studies for Continence Control: A new technique, bladder scanning, is giving residents and staff better understanding and control

Richard L. Peck. "Bladder Studies for Continence Control." Nursing Homes Long Term Care Management 49 (June 2000) 6.

Objectives:
* Peck describes how the use of ultrasound to determine bladder volume is improving care in nursing homes. To this end, he discusses the common problems with continence control in nursing homes, and the usual response of health care providers. He then describes the alternative approach of a pioneering nursing home network in Wisconsin, which uses a portable ultrasound device to measure bladder volume before catheterizing patients.

Conclusions:
* Nurses participating in the bladder ultrasound program have found that "it moves the facilities toward the project's stated goal of eliminating urinary incontinence, . . . and it empowers the staff to take more responsibility."
* Peck concludes that ultrasound measurement of bladder volume is causing "profound" changes in nursing home culture and care, improving residents' quality of life by providing nurses with a better understanding of their patients' condition that enables them to perform their job more efficiently and effectively.

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