title: Pathways for continence care: background and audit.
abstract: This article is the first in a series of three covering the use of care pathways for continence care. Trusts in Basingstoke, Swindon and Salisbury have collaborated in supporting their continence advisers in moving from finance-driven assessment data to evidence-based care pathways and the provision of patient information. This article identifies the background and approach to care pathways and addresses the quality issues. It details the issues facing continence advisers and how care pathways may help to address them. Furthermore, it describes a baseline audit which was carried out to ensure that facts rather than beliefs were being used and this demonstrated that little advice or treatment was actually reaching the patient.
authors.affiliation: Loddon NHS Trust, Basingstoke.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bayliss
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cherry
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Locke
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003363:Cost Control; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000592:standards*; D004739:England; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000592:standards*; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000592:standards; D009731:Nursing Audit; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*