A Call to Action - Nursing Must Do More to Reduce Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

People who have lower urinary tract symptoms, such as, but not limited to, urinary incontinence, urinary urgency, frequency, hesitancy, and nocturia, deserve better care. Over 50% of seriously ill hospitalized patients participating in a small study in the United States reported that bowel and bladder incontinence was a state worse than death, in comparison to conditions, such as living in a nursing home or being in constant pain (Rubin et al., 2016). This is a needed reminder of the universal need for high quality, evidence-based, person-centered fundamental care that combines the physical, psychosocial and relational needs of vulnerable elders with the delivery of state of the art clinical interventions (Kitson et al., 2013).