Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the urination status among elderly people with incontinence who require at-home nursing care as well as the status of their family caregivers, and to identify the factors related to their urination methods.
Methods: In the present study, questionnaires were distributed to 101 elderly subjects (n=101) and their caregivers.
Results: The most prevalent urination method was the collaboration of toilet and adult diapers (69, 68.8%).There was a significantly larger number of patients who used a toilet <4 times and who had a "moderate" amount of incontinence and patients who used toilet 4-8 times and had a "slight" amount of incontinence (p<0.05). We performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis using the stepwise method. We used 8 items from the responses of the elderly subjects and their caregivers that were identified as being independently associated with the urination method using the chi-squared test (or Fisher's exact probability test), with the urination method as the dependent variable. Among elderly people, the ability to use a toilet properly (p=0.004) and independent mobility (p=0.028) strongly influenced their use of a toilet for urination. Among caregivers, the influencing factor was not thinking that they have to use the toilet even though they are unable to urinate (p=0.027).
Conclusion: The use of a toilet for urination by elderly people was influenced by their physical functions and by the caregivers' attitudes toward excretion-related nursing care. When providing urination assistance, it is important for caregivers to maintain the physical functions of the elderly by providing support when necessary. It is also important to assess the bladder function by, methods such, as measuring the amount of residual urine and cooperate with a physician.