Quality of life of long-term catheter users
Research type
Research Study
Full title
IMpact of Practice on Life with an Indwelling Catheter - internATional Evaluation (IMPLICATE)
IRAS ID
263507
Contact name
Ashley Shepherd
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Stirling
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of life (QoL) of patients living in the community who have a long-term (more than 28 days) urinary catheter. There is little evidence to guide nurses as to how often urinary catheters should be changed. This study will explore if the timing of catheter changes has any impact on patients QOL. Patients will be asked to complete a short QOL questionnaire that is designed specifically for long-term catheter users and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. We will also collect some details of the patient's catheter care from the nurses caring for these patients and the MIDIS electronic nursing records. This data will largely include how often the patients catheters have been changed over the previous 12 months.Summary f Results
Lay summary of study results: The mean age of participants was 69.5 years (SD 17.5, range 19-99) and 76.1 years (SD 12.2, range 38-95) for USA and Scotland respectively. The majority of participants were male (72% overall: 69% USA, 74% Scotland). Most participants were using a urethral catheter (66% urethral vs 34% suprapubic) but this varied by country (30% urethral in USA vs 92% urethral in Scotland). The most common reason for having a catheter in both countries was retention/incomplete bladder emptying (42%: 33% U.S., 61% Scotland), but this information was often not available. Most commonly, USA participants had been using a long-term catheter for 1-2 years (33%), whilst in Scotland 5-10 years was the most common duration (24%).
The number of urinary tract infections in the last 12 months was significantly higher in the participants recruited in the USA. The number of catheter changes in the last 12 months was also significantly higher for the USA participants.REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1752
Date of REC Opinion
17 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion