International estimates suggest 5-8% of people in residential aged care homes have an indwelling urinary catheter (IDC). Many people with an IDC describe catheter-related difficulties that increase their risk of infection.

What is the IDC-IMPROVE study?

The IDC-IMPROVE study involves co-designing, implementing and evaluating a catheter care bundle that is responsive to the contextual conditions of IDC use in residential aged care homes.

It is a two-staged mixed methods study characterised by:

1. A co-design stage to produce a targeted evidence based, fit-for-purpose catheter care bundle, and an implementation strategy
2. A multi-centre, facility-level cluster randomised controlled trial, with parallel mixed methods process evaluation to evaluate the feasibility and impact of the bundle.

The research builds collaboration, partnerships and capacity between researchers and clinicians from NARI, the University of Melbourne, the University of South Australia, the University of Canberra, the University of Alberta (Canada), Central Queensland University, the Continence Foundation of Australia, Tasmanian Health Service-Southern Region, the Australian Prostate Centre, Austin Health, Regis Aged Care, Darling Downs Health Service, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Continence Nurses Society Australia, and the Australian and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society. It builds on and expands services and supports currently provided by the Continence Foundation of Australia.

This project will strengthen capacity within the residential aged care sector to provide care residents living with an IDC.

For more information, please see the project synopsis below.

If you have any queries about the project, please contact Dr Jessica Cecil - [email protected]

IDC-IMPROVE project synopsis