The Canadian Continence Foundation

Changing Continence Care in Canada

Last year, The Canadian Continence Foundation undertook a groundbreaking Health Canada-funded multidisciplinary workshop. The goal was to explore ways of increasing awareness around incontinence and of improving access to services. That project has since led to several important follow-up initiatives funded by The Federal government at the regional and national levels, specifically The Population Health Fund, Health Canada, Division of Aging and Seniors:

1. A three-year grant to develop clinical practice guidelines for incontinence care in Canada, both for multidisciplinary professionals, and for consumers. The guideline development process will be consensual, involving professionals and consumers from all related disciplines and from all provinces across the country.

The mandate also includes recommendations for working models of continence care, which would incorporate the guidelines developed. Any individual, group or organization having developed guidelines for any health issue has realized that the development of published guidelines alone is not enough to change practice. There must be the motivation and the means at a local level to use them. The whole development and implementation process of this project aims to develop guidelines which are accurate and practical, with content and structure which is agreed upon by the key users in the scientific community, on the front lines and at home.

2. A grant to implement a survey among family practitioners recently graduated from medical school, to understand their perspectives on the incontinence learning in medical school. The ultimate goal is to affect the undergraduate medical curriculum regarding incontinence. The co-investigators are Dr. Harold Drutz, Urogynecology, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Dr. Jane Schulz, Royal Alexandra Hospital.

3. Peer support phone and outreach programs run by volunteers to provide information and support to people experiencing incontinence, and their families.

The Canadian Continence Foundation is grateful to Health Canada for its ongoing support of our cause.

Research

Last year, The Canadian Continence Foundation appointed a research task force, chaired by Dr. Derek Griffiths, to recommend a role for The Canadian Continence Foundation in the area of research. The Foundation is now delighted to announce that it will be creating a research arm within the organization, to raise and award funds for Canadian incontinence research. More details will follow as the structure unfolds.

Incontinence Awareness Month - November, 1999

1999 will be the third year for Incontinence Awareness Month in Canada. This year's key event is The Travelling Continence Road Show, public education days on incontinence, stopping in 17 cities across the country. Chaired by Louise Perrin, Pht, and Shirley McSavaney, RNET, this event involves dedicated volunteers from across the country, bringing people closer to finding help for their incontinence. More information can be found on the Foundation's web site: www.continence-fdn.ca.

Publications

Two new publications re now available through The Canadian Continence Foundation:

Mission Possible: Your Undercover Guide to Incontinence Products in Canada, a 62-page guide by Autumn Trumbull, R.N., describes the various products available, as well as the many features that may differentiate them.

Experiences, Perceptions and Needs Among a Large-Scale Canadian Population Experiencing Incontinence: A Quantitative Study Summary Report by Malvina Klag, Executive Director, The Canadian Continence Foundation, March, 1999, reports on the results of a detailed survey to members of the Foundation's database.

Malvina Klag