Ultrasound-assisted continence care support in an inpatient care setting : protocol for a pilot implementation study

Abstract

Background: This nonrandomized exploratory intervention and feasibility study examines how digital assistive technology (DAT), comprising a DFree ultrasound sensor, affects nursing care for continence support and evaluates nurses’ willingness to incorporate DAT into the planning and practical implementation of care processes.

Objective: The relief provided by DFree in the clinical care setting and the extent to which it supports nursing care for activities of daily living pertaining to “micturition” is unclear. DAT DFree is expected to reduce nurses’ workload in clinical continence-care settings and was designed as a human-technology interaction that ensures a high level of usability for the subjects (ie, the nurses) and increases user acceptance by at least one level (eg, from average to slightly above average) during the study.

Methods: Approximately 45 nurses from neurology, neurosurgery, and geriatric medicine clinics and polyclinics at the University Medicine Halle will be included in the 90-day (3-month) intervention on-site in the respective wards. After the wards are equipped with digital technologies, the participating nurses will be trained to use DFree and will be able to select DFree as a possible patient-care resource if the anamnesis includes bladder dysfunction among only patients who are willing to participate. The willingness of nurse participants to use DFree in planning their care process will be assessed using the Technology Usage Inventory at 3 measurement points. The primary target values include the results of the multidimensional Technology Usage Inventory assessment that will be processed using descriptive statistics. Ten participating nurses will be invited to conduct extensive guided interviews that are intended to provide information about the device’s usefulness and feasibility in the specific field of continence care and possible improvements.

Results: It is expected that the intention to use will be confirmed by nurses, and the number of nursing problems, such as bladder dysfunction-induced bedwetting, will be reduced with a high rating of DAT usability.

Conclusions: First, this study aims to produce multilevel innovative impacts, including practical, scientific, and societal effects. The results will provide practical solutions for workload reduction in the field of nursing support for continence care, where digital assistive technologies are becoming increasingly important. The DFree ultrasonic sensor is a new technical tool for the treatment of bladder dysfunction. Generating feedback to improve technical applications can increase the user-friendliness and usefulness of the device.