Postoperative urinary retention : an exploratory study

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Date
2011-02-01Author
Betker, Amanda
Type
ThesisDegree Level
MastersMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Postoperative urinary retention (PUR) is a common problem seen after surgery, particularly after orthopedic surgery. There has been a great deal of research done surrounding the causes of PUR and the optimal treatment for PUR, all with conflicting results. Little research has been done with orthopedic nurses to find out how they actually treat PUR, and on what information they base those treatment decisions. Evidence-based practice has been gaining popularity recently and highlights the need for nurses to make treatment decisions based on sound research, patient preferences, clinical expertise, and taking into consideration health care resources and the clinical setting (DiCenso, Ciliska, & Guyatt, 2005). This study investigated nurses' views on the definition of PUR, how they assessed for PUR, how they treated PUR and what they based their treatment decisions on. Ten nurses who worked on orthopedic units were interviewed using a semi-structured format consisting of four questions. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed verbatim by the student researcher. Qualitative description, as described by Sandelowski (2000), was used to analyze data. All nurses defined PUR fairly similarly. Various contributing factors for PUR were mentioned, some that were studied in the literature, and some that were not. Each nurse had a slightly different way of treating PUR, and 'ward routine' was also described differently. Study results point to a need for more research and education in the area of PUR so that all nurses are treating PUR in the same manner based on the same sound knowledge base.
Degree
Master of Nursing (M.N.)Department
College of NursingProgram
College of NursingSupervisor
Donnelly, GlennCommittee
Goodridge, Donna; Woods, PhilCopyright Date
February 2011Subject
Postoperative urinary retention
Orthopedics
Evidence-based decision making
Urinary catheterization