February 12 continence program deals with children and adolescents
January 21, 2008A new Rural Health Education Foundation program to be broadcast on Tuesday 12th February examines continence issues for children and adolescents.
“Continence: Children and Adolescents” is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing as part of the National Continence Management Strategy.
This program aims to improve the knowledge of health professionals and help them to normalise incontinence in the context of children’s development. It will assist in the treatment, management and referral of incontinence and provide practical strategies for engaging parents and children. It encourages health professionals to investigate any underlying factors or conditions that may be associated with incontinence in children and adolescents.
A three-part series
This program is the second of a new three-part continence series (part 1, part 2, part 3) and goes to air on the Foundation’s satellite network at 8.00pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 12th February, with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 15th February. It will then be available for viewing by web-streaming and listening via audio pod-casting through the program page. Free DVD and video copies will also be available to bona fide Australian health professionals.
Featuring a panel of experts
The program brings together a panel of experts chaired by Dr Norman Swan, presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National. Other panellists include:
- Dr Patrina Caldwell, Consultant specialist in paediatric continence, Children’s Hospital Westmead, NSW.
- Ms Janet Chase, Senior Clinical Physiotherapist, Southern Continence Service Melbourne, VIC.
- Dr Susie Gibb, Paediatrician, Continence Clinic, Royal Children’s Hospital, VIC.
- Dr Geoff Chapman, General Practitioner, Sandy Bay, TAS.
- Ms Angela Cheers, Occupational Therapist, Brisbane, QLD.
And This Little Piggy went…
We are all born incontinent and gradually acquire bladder and bowel control over the first few years of our life. For some children this may be more difficult and take more time. Children develop at different rates in different areas of development but incontinence is not an indicator of reduced learning ability. By the age of about three, 50 percent of children are dry at night and by about age six, most children are not wetting the bed.
Nocturnal enuresis or bed wetting can be a relatively minor problem that can become major if not handled well. It can be a source of extra burden for a child’s family and a source of embarrassment for them. The program features a case study with Karen Matthews, the mother of two children who both experienced bed wetting up to the age of about ten years. The problem was frustrating and embarrassing for both children and parents and required patience and assistance from health professionals. Karen, who was a nurse at the time, subsequently became a continence nurse as a result of the experiences with her children.
Karen’s advice is to, “Normalise it but don’t accept it as normal”.
Something for all the kiddies…
The program deals with all types of toileting problems for children and adolescents, including bed wetting and daytime wetting, secondary enuresis and encopresis. It features a number of clinical case studies that provide our panel with the basis for discussion of best practice assessment, treatment and management.
We also feature filmed case studies on adolescent bed wetting and the special needs of children with disabilities. Achieving good bladder and bowel habits presents particular difficulties for children with spina bifida, autism and other disabilities, but they are difficulties that can be managed. Our case study shows the work being done by the Blue Care Continence Advisory Service in Brisbane and explains how they develop strategies for kids with disabilities, who sometimes may not have good communication skills and whose parents are usually ‘at their wits end’. Kay Josephs, CNC, Continence Advisor with Blue Care says, “Often it may be as simple as establishing a regular time for toileting”.
This program presents a comprehensive examination of problems, treatment and management relating to continence for children and adolescents.
More information
For more information, please contact the Foundation.