Nurses to lead NHS research into treating urinary incontinence after stroke
- Published: 02 December 2008 14:38
- Author: Steve Ford
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- Last Updated: 02 December 2008 14:54
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Nurse-led unit will investigate ways to treat incontinence in stroke patients
The UK's only nurse-led stroke research unit has received £1.2m from the Department of Health to research new ways of assessing and managing urinary incontinence after a cerebral event.
The University of Central Lancashire's clinical practice research unit will use the money to help coordinate the Identifying Continence Options after Stroke (ICONS) project, which will develop and test a package of care designed to increase the number of stroke survivors with urinary incontinence who become continent again.
Lead researcher Caroline Watkins, professor of stroke and older people's care at the unit, said: 'Ultimately, this could improve such stroke patients' lives significantly, most importantly because it could restore their dignity.
'There has been little high quality research into nursing topics after stroke; this flagship project into a key topic for nursing may prompt further robust research to increase the evidence base of nursing interventions with patients after stroke,' she added
The unit will carry out the programme in collaboration with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and six other universities. It will involve 13 stroke services and around 850 patients in total, with the potential for further roll out across 30 stroke services.
