Barriers and enablers to providing evidence-based in-hospital urinary continence care: A cross-sectional survey informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework

Aims: To identify the barriers and enablers perceived by hospital-based clinicians to providing evidence-based continence care to inpatients. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study of inpatient clinicians using a questionnaire. Methods: Acute care and rehabilitation clinicians from 15 wards that admit patients after stroke at 12 hospitals (NSW = 11, Queensland =1, metropolitan = 4, regional = 8) were invited to complete an online questionnaire. The 58 questions (answered on a 5-point Likert scale) were aligned to 13 of the 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results were dichotomized into 'strongly agree/agree' and 'unsure/disagree/strongly disagree' and proportions were calculated. Data collection occurred between January 2019 and March 2019. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 291 participants with 88% being nurses. Barriers were found in nine domains including knowledge; skills; memory attention and decision making; emotion; environmental context and resources; behavioural regulation; social professional role; intensions, social influences; and beliefs about capabilities. Enablers were found in seven domains including goals; social influences; knowledge; skills; social, professional role and identity; reinforcement and beliefs about consequences. Conclusion: This multi-site, multi-professional study that included predominantly nurses highlights the barriers and enablers to inpatient continence care. Future implementation studies in inpatient continence management should address these identified barriers and enablers to improve effectiveness of implementation of evidence-based care. Implications for the Profession: This study highlights that although there are many barriers to ward nurses providing evidence-based continence care, there are also several enablers. Both should be addressed to improve practice. Reporting Method: We adhered to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES) (Supplementary File 1). Relevance to Clinical Practice: Establishing barriers to practice gives a broader understanding of why practice does not occur and establishes areas where researchers and clinicians need to address in order to change behaviour.