The prime motivation for this book has come from my ex­ perience with those who suffer from incontinence and from my contact, both in the clinical area and as a teacher, with those who care for them. Over the years I have developed a pas­ sionate interest in the subject and there is little doubt that in general terms the level of knowledge and awareness relating to the topic has increased. Despite this it is still apparent that continence promotion remains a somewhat fringe subject, both in practice and in theory. One of the difficulties which has become clear from discussion with nurses of all grades is that they feel that the only people who are capable of mastering the practicalities of continence promotion are full time continence advisers. It is unlikely that this view has stemmed from con­ tinence advisers themselves (those that I know are usually very grateful for all the help that they can get), or even from a reluctance on the part of nursing staff to develop their skills. The root of the difficulty appears to be a lack of awareness on the part of nurses of the skills that are required for continence promotion and also how they can be put into practice. The aim of this book is to provide a reference text to enable all practising nurses to take an active part in continence pro­ motion and the appropriate management of incontinence.

The prime motivation for this book has come from my ex­ perience with those who suffer from incontinence and from my contact, both in the clinical area and as a teacher, with those who care for them. Over the years I have developed a pas­ sionate interest in the subject and there is little doubt that in general terms the level of knowledge and awareness relating to the topic has increased. Despite this it is still apparent that continence promotion remains a somewhat fringe subject, both in practice and in theory. One of the difficulties which has become clear from discussion with nurses of all grades is that they feel that the only people who are capable of mastering the practicalities of continence promotion are full time continence advisers. It is unlikely that this view has stemmed from con­ tinence advisers themselves (those that I know are usually very grateful for all the help that they can get), or even from a reluctance on the part of nursing staff to develop their skills. The root of the difficulty appears to be a lack of awareness on the part of nurses of the skills that are required for continence promotion and also how they can be put into practice. The aim of this book is to provide a reference text to enable all practising nurses to take an active part in continence pro­ motion and the appropriate management of incontinence.