Edinburgh Napier University

  Introduction: This paper presents part of a larger study which examined callout patterns of people with catheters in the community, explored stakeholder experiences and developed a shared training resource to address identified problems. The study was a collaboration between a Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and academics at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). It was funded by the Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland.

Method: This part of the study presents the stakeholders experiences with the aim of: Exploring the experiences of people with catheters and their carers, exploring the experiences of staff supporting people with catheters in the community, and identifying interventions associated with positive outcomes for patients.

A total of 15 participants were recruited: 6 patients, 2 carers, 3 qualified nurses, 1 health care assistant and 3 augmented home carers.

One to one interviews were conducted with catheterised community-living patients, relatives/carers supporting a person with a catheter and health and social care staff with a role in managing urethral catheter care in the community. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and entered onto NVivo (version 10).

Because the findings were to inform a training resource, content analysis was conducted independently by two academics and the results discussed and agreed.

Four clear areas were identified, each with three subsections: 1) The Lived Experience: catheter related concerns; learning as they go along and the therapeutic relationship. 2) Communication: inconsistent transfer of care; conflicting information and variation in patient and carer expectations. 3) Education: lack of standardised training; learning on the job and catheter care interventions. 4) Care delivery: deciding when to phone for help; lack of clarity in terms of who does what and variation in experience and knowledge.

Results: It was clear from the findings that living with a catheter is tolerated because the alternatives are not feasible, yet catheter care appears problematic and complications seem inevitable. There was evidence of good team work amongst staff and positive support mechanisms available for patients and carers. However, patients and their carers had little knowledge about what issues and complications could occur after the catheter had become part of their daily lives. There was a clear need for an education resource that would provide such information.

Conclusion: Empowering patients in this way would allow them to take more control of their own care, which would benefit the patients as well as those who cared for them.