Amanda Cross

Urinary incontinence, the accidental leakage of urine from the bladder, is extremely common among people with dementia. Urinary incontinence can cause distress and impact well-being. Many people with dementia use medications to manage their urinary incontinence. Unfortunately, the medications can sometimes harm people with dementia by worsening their memory and increasing their risk of side effects. There are no targeted resources to help people living with dementia, their families and healthcare professionals decide when to use and when to stop medications for urinary incontinence for people with dementia. The project aims to address this gap. The team will create resources that support and empower people with dementia, their families, and healthcare professionals to make well-informed choices about medications for managing urinary incontinence. The team will design these resources together with the individuals that will use the resources to ensure they are fit for purpose. 

The resources will be tested in residential aged care to see if they are acceptable and if they promote safe and effective continence care. The ultimate goal is to reduce medication-related harm and improve the quality of care related to the management of urinary incontinence for people living with dementia in residential aged care. 

Read more about this exciting project( 996 kB)

Dr Amanda Cross is a pharmacist and post-doctoral research fellow at the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Monash University.