Continence profiles. A way to enhance assessment of urinary continence in German nursing practice.

The German expert standard "Promotion of urinary continence in nursing" was developed and implemented to support nursing practice. The group of experts involved identified the assessment of (in)continence situations and the evaluation of outcomes as a central problem for successful continence care. They, therefore, developed an assessment instrument in the German language, namely six continence profiles, to help differentiate between continence and incontinence. It also takes into account the extent to which the relevant situation can be promoted or compensated by the application of measures, on the one hand, and independently or dependent on nursing staff assistance, on the other hand. The profiles were developed based on theories and implemented into practice as a model. The current paper describes the theoretical background and development process as well as early results from implementation and testing. However, a comprehensive scientific study must still be performed.