title: Managing the self: living with an indwelling urinary catheter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper reports the findings of a study that aimed to understand the perspectives of community dwelling adults' who lived with a permanently indwelling urinary catheter. The objectives of the research were to: reveal the participants' perspective of living in the community with a permanent indwelling urinary catheter, raise awareness of the experiences of catheterized men and women and to inform community nursing practice.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Catheter care is a common nursing intervention. Clinical Nurse Consultants (CNCs) with a focus on continence drove this inquiry because it was believed that Community Nurses may underestimate the impact that a permanently indwelling catheter may have on peoples' lives.
  
  
  METHODS
  Structured interviews were undertaken with twelve men and nine women (n = 21), aged between 24 and 82 years and who had a permanently indwelling catheter (either urethral or supra pubic) for longer than six months. Analysis of the interview transcripts was a collaboration between the researchers and clinicians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most significant finding was that participants wanted to learn urinary catheter self-care as this allowed them to take control and gave relevance to their daily life. Data revealed a learning pattern consisting of seven interrelated themes as people have learned to self-manage: (i) resisting the intrusion of a catheter, (ii) reckoning with the need for a catheter, (iii) being vigilant for signs of problems, (iv) reconciling between the needs of self and others, (v) reclaiming life, (vi) managing self-care, and (vii) taking control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We do not suggest that people undergo a straightforward path toward catheter self-care, rather, that the seven interactive themes we have identified may be useful for observation in nursing practice whilst sensitizing nurses to clients' experiences of living with a catheter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Promoting self-care of a catheter is not simply about educating clients about their condition or giving them relevant information. It is intrinsically a learning process, observing responses to every day events, such as the identification of the different sounds and sensations that may alert the individual to a full catheter bag, urine that has stopped flowing or signs of impending infection.
authors.affiliation: RDNS Research Unit, University of South Australia, Glenside 5065, South Australia. dkralik@bigpond.net.au
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kralik
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Seymour
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eastwood
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology